Data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) shows that in January 2020, Spain recovered around 60% of international tourist arrivals compared to the pre-pandemic era.

Meanwhile, in January 2021, the number of foreign visitors increased more than fivefold, when 2.5 million tourists arrived in Spain, increasing total spending by 516.7% compared to a year ago, reports SchengenVisaInfo. .com.

In a March 3 press release issued by the Spanish government, Industry, Trade and Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto noted that data released in January confirmed that the impact of the Omicron variant on tourism was lower than expected. However, he still managed to slow down.

“While waiting to see how the war in Ukraine could affect tourist flows in the coming months, the Spanish government is already working to find alternatives to a possible absence of Russian tourists this high season in our destinations most exposed to this market, like Catalonia, the minister pointed out in this regard.

According to the Spanish government, unlike 2021, this year the UK is tokenized as the main source market, meaning around 363,150 British tourists visited Spain in January, representing an increase of 1,461 .3% compared to the same market. months last year.

Other countries where most tourists to Spain come from are France and Germany.

France contributed with 347,955 tourists, or 195.6% more on an annual basis, and Germany with 282,280 tourists, or 452.2% more.

Meanwhile, the destination that has received the most international tourists is the Canary Islands. Their share of the total number of tourists is 30.06%, followed by Catalonia with 463,661 tourists, or 18.6% of the total, and Andalusia, with 323,896 tourists or 13%.

In terms of tourist nationality, those who mainly travel to the Canary Islands are mainly British and German.

Additionally, average tourist spending in January surpassed pre-pandemic levels.

“The average expenditure per tourist was 1,217 euros compared to 1,155 euros in January 2020. The average length of stay was 9.9 days, compared to 8 days two years ago”, read the statement.

In January, total spending by international tourists who visited Spain reached €27 billion, an increase of 63% compared to January 2020.

The Canary Islands, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid are the regions with the highest share of tourism spending in December, which follows:

• Canary Islands (37.3%)
• Catalonia (14.4%)
• The Community of Madrid (12.7%)

However, when updating the list of EU/EEA countries that are required to follow entry rules when arriving in Spain, authorities also explained that Belgium, Austria, Germany, Czechia, Cyprus, Bulgaria , Denmark, Croatia, Finland, Estonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, France (except Mayotte), Ireland, Hungary, Greece, Latvia, Iceland, Lithuania , Liechtenstein, Norway, Malta, Luxembourg, Portugal, Poland, the Netherlands, Sweden and Romania will remain on the risk list.

According to travelers from third countries, only those who are vaccinated with one of the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are currently allowed to enter Spain.