The international tourism activity indicators have racked up their third consecutive year of all-time highs, albeit with a more moderate and sustainable growth rate. From January to April 2025, Spain received 25.6 million international tourists, which is 1.7 million more than in the same period of 2024 and a year-on-year increase of 7.1%. However, last year, the number of arrivals by those same dates had increased by 2.4 million tourists, representing 18% more year-on-year compared to the previous year. If we consider that the sector is showing a tendency towards lower seasonality, we can expect this moderation in the growth rate to be even more pronounced during the peak season over the coming months and that it could grow somewhat more vigorously between October and December.
In terms of spending, international tourism generated 34.3 billion euros in the period January to April, 9.3% more than the previous year. However, the average expenditure per tourist shows a clearer moderation: it reached 1,350 euros on average for the year, just 2.0% more than in 2024, which is well below the 7.1% growth recorded last year in that same period and also below the rate of tourism inflation (see analysis below).
This slower rate of growth in arrivals is widespread among the main source markets, with the exception of Switzerland and, above all, Portugal, from where tourist arrivals are growing at faster rates than last year. In any case, key markets for the Spanish sector such as the Netherlands, Italy and France are still showing very dynamic year-on-year growth rates at the beginning of this year (see chart below). The most notable slowdown is among long-haul tourists, particularly those from Latin America (in the chart, included under the heading «Rest of America», which encompasses most Latin American countries) and Asia (which largely covers the heading «Rest of the world»). The slowdown that has had the greatest impact is that of German tourism, the second most important market for the Spanish sector.