Spain welcomed 6.2 million international air passengers last month, reflecting a 15.8 per cent growth compared to November 2022.
Data provided by the Spanish tourism office, Turespaña also revealed that throughout the period from January to November, the country saw a total of 88.4 million international arrivals, marking an 18.2 per cent rise from the corresponding period in 2022.
Based on the pre-pandemic figures for 2019, the arrivals for this period were only marginally down by 0.1 per cent.
In November, passengers sent to Spain increased in all the main issuing countries, and all markets showed notable increases, highlighting the notable growth of over 20 per cent in Italy and the United States.
During November 2023, the UK contributed 1.2 million international passengers to Spain, representing 19.5 per cent of total arrivals and a 14.1 per cent year-on-year increase.
At the same time, the Canary Islands received 40 per cent of British visitors. Germany contributed about 800,000 passengers (12.8 per cent of the total), with a 15 per cent increase, mainly heading to the Canary Islands (37 per cent).
Moreover, Italy accounted for 10.2 per cent of arrivals (630,018 travellers) with a 24.8 per cent growth, benefiting Catalonia and the Community of Madrid. According to Turespaña, France contributed 7.4 per cent of total passengers, expanding by 9.5 per cent, notably favoring Madrid.
The Netherlands, making up five per cent of travellers, experienced a 12.2 per cent growth in November, with Catalonia and the Valencian Community as primary destinations (43.1 per cent of arrivals).
Further data from Turespaña show that last month, the top six communities made up 97.5 per cent of arrivals, with Andalusia and the Balearic Islands leading in year-on-year increases at 25.2 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively.
Among November passengers, 58 per cent came from the European Union, growing by 17.5 per cent, while the remaining 42 per cent from the rest of the world increased by 13.5 per cent.
During the same period, Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas airport also received the most arrivals with a total of 1.7 million, followed by Barcelona (1.3 million) and Malaga (544,000). Malaga airport saw the largest year-on-year increase at 27.1 per cent, followed by Palma Airport at 26.2 per cent.
As Turespaña figures point out, from January to November 2023, Valencia, Barcelona, and Madrid airports experienced significant increases at 27 per cent, 23 per cent, and 21.7 per cent, respectively.
