During the first six months of 2018, the total expenditure of international tourists visiting Spain increased by 4.2% compared to the same period of the previous year, reaching 38,944 million euros, according to the latest Tourist Expenditure Survey published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
By autonomous communities, Catalunya was the one with the highest accumulated expenditure, with a total of 8,938 million euros. This figure represents 22.9% of the total and reflects an 8.5% increase in spending by international tourists in Catalunya compared to the first half of 2017.
The second autonomous community with the most expenditure by international tourists was Canarias, with 8,114 million euros (20.8% of the total and an increase of 2.6%). Third place was occupied by Andalucía (5,707 million), fourth by Illes Balears (5,310 million), and fifth by the Comunidad de Madrid (4,399 million euros).
Last June, the total expenditure of international tourists was 9,393 million euros, 4.5% more than in June 2017. The average total expenditure per tourist was 1,100 euros, 3.2% more than the previous year, while the average daily expenditure stood at 152 euros, 6.2% more. The average duration of trips was 7.3 days, slightly lower (-0.2 days) than in June 2017.
Catalonia was also in June the community that accumulated the most expenditure from international tourists, with 2,402 million euros, which represents an increase of 13.6% compared to the previous year. This figure represents 25.6% of the total spent by international tourists in Spain during the month of June. Balearic Islands was second with 2,147 million (22.9% of the total) and Andalusia third with 1,171 million euros of expenditure (13.7%).
By countries, those who spent the most in Spain during the first six months of 2018 were tourists from the United Kingdom (19.8% of the total), followed by those from Germany (13.4%) and the Nordic countries –Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden- (8.6%).