The expenses of international tourists visiting Spain reached EUR 32.2 million during the first 7 months of 2013, representing an improvement of 6% over the same period in 2012. These numbers were provided by the Egatur Tourist Expenditure Survey, released by the Ministry of Industry, Energy, and Tourism.
The average daily spending increased over the period by 2.1%, up to EUR 108, while the average total expenditure per tourist increased by 2%, up to EUR 949.
The major volume of expenses in the first 7 months came from British tourists, spending EUR 6.358 million, which accounted for 19.7% of the total, and spending 5.7% more per tourist. They were followed by German tourists, with 5.150 million, up 2.1%; those from Nordic countries, with EUR 3.413 million, up 18.5%; and the French, with 3.056 million, up 16.4%.
In the first seven months of the year, more than 34 million international tourists arrived, representing a 3.9% increase over the same period in 2012. The United Kingdom, the largest market for Spain, recorded a rise of 4.3% between January and July, while Germany, the second largest, rose 5.2% in the first seven months of the year.
Cataluña is the community that leads the total expense with EUR 7.685 million, representing 23.9% of the total and an increase of 9.8% over the same period in 2012, followed by the Canarias, with EUR 6.240 million, 7.7% more.
Among the autonomous communities, Cataluña, with a rise of 5.1%, got the highest percentage of foreign visitors, 25.8% of the total arrivals. This was followed by the Balearic Islands, with an increase of 7.5% and 18.4% of arrivals.
In July, total expenses reached EUR 7.794 million, 4.3% more than in the same month last year. This was driven by the increase in tourist arrivals and the average expense per person. In July, the average expenses per person stood at EUR 992, up 1.3%, while the average daily expense grew to EUR 103, up 1.2%.
In July, Spain received 7.9 million foreign tourists, representing an increase of 2.9% over the same month last year, a new record since 1995. According to the data published in the Survey of Tourist Movements in Border (Frontur) Nordic, British, and Russian visitors contributed the most to the net growth in that month. Andalucía and Cataluña have been the most favored destinations by this increase.