Spain
Introduction
Travellers from Spain made 27.6 million outbound visits in 2023, with a total international tourism expenditure of US$27.6 billion.
In 2023, the UK welcomed 2.2 million visits from Spain. During the travellers’ visits, their total expenditure was £1.1 billion, with an average spend of £484 per visit.
Discover visitor behaviour, travel trade insights, detailed data visualisations for this market – and more. The statistics in this market report are collated from a range of sources such as the Office for National Statistics (ONS), as well as sponsored questions and our own research. For further details, see How we source this information.
Visitor characteristics
- Business visitors from Spain are considerably more likely to be male than female.
- 46% of spending came from holiday visits, 31% from visiting friends and relatives, and 15% from business in 2023.
- More than three-in-five holiday visitors from Spain are making a repeat visit to Britain (excluding British expats).
- 98% of visitors from Spain are either ‘likely’ or ‘extremely likely’ to recommend Britain for a holiday or short-break.
Popular activities for this market
Dining in a restaurant.
Sightseeing of famous buildings and monuments.
Going shopping.
Explore the inbound data in full
Use our visualisations to see data from this market in greater depth and clarity. Compare annual statistics, and filter by age group, gender, trip duration and more. It includes seasonality, trip purpose and regional spread of visitors to UK destinations. These data are based on the International Passenger Survey, conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Perceptions of Britain in the Spanish market
The Spanish have an upbeat opinion of the UK, ranking it seventh out of 60 nations in 2023.
The cultural products that the Spanish most strongly associate with the UK are museums, music and films (2022).
Cultural attractions are among the most important reasons for choosing Britain as a holiday destination.
The Spanish rate the UK highly for ‘contemporary culture’, ‘culture’ in general, ‘vibrant cities’, ‘tourism’, and ‘historic buildings’ – but less so for ‘scenic natural beauty’ and ‘welcome’. The UK was rated 30th and 35th out of 60 nations respectively on these two attributes in 2023.
Areas of strength for Britain include ‘good shopping’, ‘the ease of getting around’, ‘party’ and ‘to watch sporting events’ – but very few consider Britain to be the best place for ‘food and drink’.
Activities that appeal to potential Spanish visitors include ‘taking a canal boat tour through the waterways of England’, ‘taking a street art tour in one of Britain’s modern cities’, ‘visiting Windsor Castle’, ‘a food tour of one of London’s best foodie markets’, and ‘spotting wildlife in the Scottish Highlands’.
Global context
Top-level statistics relating to the population, GDP, tourism expenditure and popular destinations for this market. For greater detail on inbound tourism flows from this market to the UK, see our data visualisations.
| Measure | 2023 |
| International tourism expenditure (US$bn) | 27.6 |
| Global rank for international tourism expenditure | 11 |
| Number of outbound visits (m) | 27.6 |
| Most visited destination | France |
Key demographic and economic data
| Measure | 2023 |
| Population (m) | 48 |
| GDP per capita PPP (US$) | 49,837 |
| Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%) | 1.8 |
| Annual GDP growth (%) | 2.5 |
Caring for visitors
Websites, brochures, leaflets, signs and other materials should be available in Spanish.
Bed and breakfast accommodation is popular (particularly outside London), or centrally-located boutique budget hotels.
The Spanish are interested in local colour: markets, pubs, interesting excursions and shopping possibilities.
The Spanish tend to eat late, normally not taking dinner until after 9pm.
The leisure and travel trade
Virtually all tour operators feature Britain either in a dedicated brochure or as part of a European programme.
Generally tour operators use ground handlers in the UK.
The planning cycle is later than in other European countries, taking place from January to April and May to September.
Personal relationships are very important to the Spanish, and take time to build.
Access to Britain from Spain
The key routes and transport modes that connect this market with the UK.
| Measure | 2023 |
| Weekly aircraft departures | 2,452 |
| Weekly seat capacity | 458,032 |
| Airports with direct routes in Spain | 30 |
| Airports with direct routes in Britain | 27 |
| Weekly ferry crossings (2024) | 28 |
- In 2023 there are 2,452 weekly departures, with an average seating capacity of 458,032.
- Capacity is highly seasonal, reflecting the demand for travel by Britons to Spain rather than vice-versa.
- Airports across Britain have direct air links with Spain – but London airports receive 44% of the scheduled seat capacity in 2023.
- Following the COVID-19 pandemic, scheduled seat capacity on non-stop flights from Spain to the UK recovered to 97% of 2019 levels in 2023.
- The vast majority of visits from Spain are by air, all of whom are subject to an Air Passenger Duty fee of £13.
Further resources
Spain Market Snapshot.pdf
Spain Market Snapshot
Spain Market Profile
Inbound market statistics, Experiences and perceptions, Understanding the market and Access and travel trade.
Spain Aviation Profile
Outbound travel to the UK
Spain COVID-19 Travel Sentiment
Inbound COVID-19 Sentiment Tracker
Where visitors from Spain to the UK reside in their own country.xlsx
Where visitors from Spain to the UK reside in their own country
How we source this information
We work with a number of data sources to provide a rich and insightful picture of our key inbound source markets. This includes, but is not limited to, data provided by Oxford Economics, the UNWTO, Apex, Anholt-Ipsos Nation Brands Index and from our own surveys and ad-hoc research. The largest share of these data comes from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) by the ONS.
Visit our About the International Passenger Survey page for more information on how this data is collected and analysed.
