Spain

From 22 May we will be working to update all of the data and documents on this page following the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revision of the International Passenger Survey (IPS) data for 2009-2018 and the released detailed 2019 data. UK data will be updated first and followed by the regional data from 27 May. Please be patient as we update these pages or contact the VisitBritain research team if you have any questions- VB/VEResearch@visitbritain.org. Thank you.

Visitor characteristics

Business visitors are more than three times more likely to be male than female
48% of spending came from holiday visits, 28% from visits to friends and/or relatives and 14% from business in 2019
More than three-in-five of holiday visitors 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

Dining in a restaurant

Sightseeing of Famous Buildings/ Monuments

Went Shopping

Global context


Measure	2019
International tourism expenditure (US$bn)	28.3
Global rank for international tourism expenditure	11
Number of outbound visits (m)	28.1
Most visited destination	France

Key demographic and economic data


Measure	2019
Population (m)	47.1
GDP per capita PPP (US$)	38,083
Annual average GDP growth over past decade (%)	1.0
Annual average GDP growth in the past year (%)	2.0

Spain Market Snapshot (PDF, 1.03MB)

Spain Market Profile (PDF, 3.89MB)

Spain Aviation Profile (PDF, 979KB)

Read about the preferences of Europeans towards tourism (PDF, 1.65MB, Published March 2015)

Find out where visitors from Spain to the UK reside in their own country(Excel, 176KB, Published 2015)

Read about the perceptions of the UK held by Spanish respondents (PDF, 449KB, Published March 2019)

Exchange rate

1 GBP = 1.1299 EUR

As of 21 January 2021

Retrieved from the Bank of England

Inbound visits to Britain from Spain

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Touch the data points to see the values.

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Number of visits

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Total expenditure (GBP)

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Total nights spent

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Average length of stay (Nights)

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Average spend per visit (GBP)

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What Spaniards think about Britain

The cultural products that the Spanish most strongly associate with the UK are museums and music
Cultural attractions are amongst the most important reasons for choosing Britain as a holiday destination
The Spanish rate the UK highly for ‘contemporary culture’, ‘sport’, ‘vibrant cities', 'culture' in general, and 'historic buildings', but less so for ‘scenic natural beauty’ and ‘welcome’; Britain was rated 33rd and 26th out of fifty nations respectively on these two attributes in 2019
Areas of strength for Britain include ‘good shopping’, ‘the ease of getting around’, ‘party’ and ‘to watch sporting events’ while very few consider Britain as 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'

Caring for visitors

Websites, brochures, leaflets, signs and so on, need to be available in Spanish
Bed & Breakfast accommodation is popular, especially outside London, or boutique budget hotels which are centrally located
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 & 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-April and May-September
Personal relationships are very important to the Spanish and take time to build

Access to Britain from Spain


Measure	2019
Weekly aircraft departures	2,558
Weekly seat capacity	472,866
Airports with direct routes in Spain	30
Airports with direct routes in Britain	28
Weekly ferry crossings	7

In 2019, there were 2,558 weekly departures with an average seating capacity of 472,866
Capacity is highly seasonal, reflecting demand for travel by Britons to Spain rather than vice-versa
Airports right across Britain have direct air links from Spain but Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted and Heathrow are the airports receiving the greatest volumes
The vast majority of visits from Spain are by air, all of whom are subject an Air Passenger Duty fee of £13

Markets

Markets

Spain

Spain