Humiliation for protesters as record-breaking 21m tourists pour into Spain

During the summer when anti-tourist occurred across the country, has still managed to log a record 21.8 million international , a significant increase on 2023, official data has revealed. 

The figure is a 7.3 percent rise from last year, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said. 

Spain is the world’s second-most popular tourist destination after and in July received 10.9 million visitors and as many again in August, according to the institute. 

The tourism minister, Jordi Hereu, called the impact of tourism “a great success for the wellbeing, social cohesion and economic development of Spain” at an event organised by the tourism promotion agency Turespaña in , but added that Spain must transform its model for the sector, according to .

Rising numbers of tourists and their impact on Spain’s and housing crisis have not sat well with all Spaniards, with protests having been organised in several holiday hotspots including Barcelona, and the Canary and islands. 

In April, between 20,000 and 50,000 people across the took part in coordinated protests against excess tourism, which campaigners argue has damaged the welfare of the population and the islands’ environment.

In May, about 10,000 people protested in the capital of , with other protests occurring on the smaller islands of Menorca and . In the latter, there were specific concerns about the island . 

In July, there was a 3,000-people-strong protest in Barcelona, with some using tape to seal hotel exits and others , which the . 

In particular, protesters have complained about the rising rental prices due to many properties being let to tourists at lucrative prices. Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, has said that the , including , to tourists by 2029. He also announced plans to raise the on cruise ship visitors to the city staying less than 12 hours after previously earlier this year. 

The most common nationality among visitors to Spain over the summer was the , with 4.17 million tourists, followed by France with 3.75 million, with 2.49 million and Italy with 1.35 million. There was also a 13 percent increase in tourists to 850,000.

Spain hosted 64.8 million tourists over the first eight months of the year – another record, the INE said. The most popular destinations were , which includes the city of Barcelona, and the Canary and Balearic islands.

Tourism revenues rose by 17.6 percent over the eight months to €86.7bn (£72bn), the equivalent of €187 (over £157) spent per tourist per day.

According to Exceltur, an organisation created by Spain’s leading tourism groups, 90 million tourists are expected throughout 2024. 

Last year, a total of 85.1 million international tourists arrived in Spain in 2023, which was a record-breaking seventh year in a row and an 18.7 percent increase from the previous year, according to the INE in February. Foreign exchange also increased by 24.7 percent compared to 2022.