Spain receives 58.1 million international tourists through July

Madrid, Sept 1 (KUNA) -- Official data showed on Tuesday that Spain welcomed 58.1 million international tourists during the first seven months of this year, a 4.6 percent increase compared to the same period last year. The Spanish National Statistics Institute said in a statement that this growth was primarily driven by strong performance in July, when approximately 11.5 million tourists visited Spain, a 4.6 percent year-on-year increase. It added that the rise in tourist numbers was reflected in tourism revenues, which reached 82 billion euros ($95.1 billion), an increase of up to 7.8 percent compared to the same period in 2025, noting that tourism revenues in July alone amounted to 18.2 billion euros ($21.1 billion), a 10.9 percent year-on-year increase. The statement said that Britain was the largest source market for tourists to Spain between January and July last year, with 11.5 million British tourists arriving, an increase of up to 4.6 percent compared to the same period last year. It added that France came in second, with more than 7.2 million tourists recorded, a 1.2 percent rise, followed by Germany with approximately 6.9 million tourists, a decrease of 0.5 percent compared to the same period last year. The statement pointed out that Catalonia was the main tourist destination, welcoming 11.9 million tourists, followed by the Balearic Islands with 9.2 million tourists, and then the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean with around nine million tourists. It added that Spain recorded a record number of international tourists in 2025, reaching 96.8 million, a 3.2 percent increase over 2024, according to the statement. International tourists' spending also reached 134.7 billion euros ($156.2 billion), a 6.8 percent increase over the previous year. (End) H.N.D./F.S.