FOREIGN tourist visitors to Spain went up in September, but only by 0.8% compared to year earlier.
The National Statistics Institute said on Friday that there were 9.7 million arrivals from overseas.
The previous percentage rises were 9.17% in 2024, and 13.2% the previous year.
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If the trend continues until December, Spain would close 2025 with 97.3 million foreign tourists- a new record.
But that would fall short of the 100 million being predicted at the start of 2025 as visitors have pay more for accommodation and air travel.
Spain’s attraction to UK tourists continued in September with a 2% rise- totalling 2.1 million visitors- but the German market fell by 2.5%(1.3 million) and France was down by 1.6%(1.1 million).
Other reductions were from Italy(down 2.7%) and the Netherlands(3.7%).
On the plus side, USA visitors were up by 3.1% as well as increases from Ireland(13.4%) and Portugal(7.8%).
The cumulative figure for the first nine months of the year, came in at 76.5 million- 3.5% more compared to the same period in 2024 (73.6 million).
In the first nine months, 15.3 million tourists arrived in Spain from the United Kingdom (4% more); from France, 10.2 million (0.1% less); and from Germany, 9.5 million (1.4% more).
By region, Catalunya was in the lead between January and September, with 15.8 million foreign tourists, although it remained flat in year-on-year terms.
The Balearic Islands added 13.7 million in the same period, 3% more; and Andalucia overtook the Canary Islands, with 11.5 million people, 7.3% more.
Expenditure in September rose to €13.36 billion, 6% more, with an average per tourist of €1,380 and a year-on-year increase of 5.1%.
The cumulative expenditure of foreign tourists visiting Spain exceeded, for the first time, the figure of €100 billion(€105.8 billion) between January and September, up 7% year-on-year compared to €98.94 billion in 2024.
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