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Has summer tourism in Spain hit its peak? British visitors keep coming as German and French numbers drop
Record July arrivals put Spain’s tourism sector in the spotlight, but some old favourites are staying away
If you thought British holidaymakers were getting tired of Spain’s sunshine, think again. This July, more than two million Brits jetted in for their summer break, according to new data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE). In fact, the number of British visitors crept up ever so slightly: up by 0.7%, or nearly 15,000 extra arrivals compared to last year. That makes the UK, once again, Spain’s top source of tourists, while Germany and France both hit a bit of a lull.It’s the first time since the pandemic that what you might call Spain’s “tourism trinity”, the UK, Germany and France, has shown this sort of split. While the British are sticking with tried-and-true favourites (particularly Andalucía and the Balearic Islands, which saw tens of thousands more UK arrivals), their German and French counterparts seem to be taking a breather.
The German numbers especially caught analysts’ attention: 1,185,055 arrivals in July, which is 60,000 fewer than the same month last year, a noticeable dip of 4.8%. The fall’s most obvious in traditional hotspots; the Balearic Islands welcomed 58,000 fewer Germans, an 8.5% plunge. Catalonia saw German arrivals tumble by nearly 20%. Still, other regions, like Valencia and the Canary Islands, offered a silver lining, pulling in more German visitors than before.
The French don’t seem all that keen either right now. France sent about 50,500 fewer tourists - a drop of 3.1% from last July. The biggest dips were seen in the Valencian Community (down 25%) and Madrid (down 40%), although the Balearic and Canary Islands managed to entice extra bookings. Economic troubles in Germany and fiscal pressures in France might be putting a damper on travel for some.
Strangely enough, while the ‘big three’ cool off, Spain’s overall numbers are shooting up. INE registered a historic milestone in July, with 11 million international arrivals – more people than ever choosing Spanish beaches, cities and countryside. That’s thanks, in part, to new visitors from places like Ireland, Turkey, Portugal, the Netherlands and Denmark. Even China, the United States and Argentina are contributing more to Spain’s tourist crowds.
It’s not all parties and paella, though. If you dig into the stats, you’ll spot further drops from Belgium (down 50,000), Switzerland (down 36,000), Austria (down 29,000) and Sweden (down 11,000). Whether this is just a blip, or the first sign that Spain’s tourism boom has peaked, remains to be seen. The full verdict will have to wait for August’s figures, which won’t land until Wednesday October 2.
So while British arrivals are still going strong, numbers from Germany and France have dipped, and there’s a fair bit of shuffling going on among other European visitors too. Whether this is the start of a new trend or just a temporary wobble is anyone’s guess for now. All eyes are on next month’s figures to see what the summer story really looks like.
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Image: Atlantic Ambience/Pexels
