Although sometimes the heat can be stifling, each year more tourists choose Spain to spend their holidays. The United Kingdom, France and Germany continue to be the main source countries for tourists, in a flow that quickly recovered after the stoppage caused by the pandemic.

Now, in a second phase of post-covid recovery, it is Asian tourists who are returning and they are doing so, moreover, with a significant increase in spending. Chinese tourists, for example, have spent an average of 29% more in the first half of the year than they did in 2019, before the outbreak of Covid.

The total number of Chinese travelers, yes, still does not even come close to pre-pandemic levels and is 80.6% below the figures for 2019. But the recovery is gaining strength. Asian tourists as a whole have increased their presence in Spain, according to data published by the Spanish Tourism Institute (Turespaña) for the second quarter of 2023, which includes accumulated data for the first half of the year and compares the same period of time 2022,

In particular, China presents an increase of 420% in the absolute number of tourists in the first half of 2023 and its total spending has grown by 592%, compared to the same period of the previous year, a year with practically no activity due to the strong sanitary restrictions in the country of origin. Specifically, the number of Chinese tourists who registered in the first half of 2022 was 26,085; in the same period of time in 2023 that number increased to 135,715 people.

“The recovery of the Asian market, mainly of tourists from China, is excellent news for our tourism. In 2023, with the incorporations of this summer, we will recover 80% of the pre-pandemic connections, and 2024 will surely be the year of the full consolidation of this market, which is so important for our country”, comments the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Hector Gomez.

The strong increase is due to the fact that the severe restrictions imposed by the Government of the Asian country have been relaxed and citizens can now leave the country with greater freedom. Since due to the Covid-19 pandemic, both growth and spending percentages were relatively low in 2022 compared to other countries, which has had an impact on this year's growth figures. Currently, there are no restrictions on the arrival of Chinese tourists, and the country's authorities only require an antigen test for the return. Added to this is the fact that Spain has again been classified as Approved Destination Status (which includes the countries to which China allows group travel).

In 2019, there were 700,748 Chinese tourists who entered the country and spent 2,407 euros per person, according to data obtained from the INE. In 2023 and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the data shows that in the first six months of the year 135,715 people have entered and have spent 3,106 euros per person, according to the study published by Turespaña, this is 29% more.

For their part, the other two large Asian countries that have increased their presence on the peninsula, compared to the first half of 2022, are Japan and South Korea.. The flow of tourists from Japan has increased by 200% (46,607 people in the first half of 2022 to 139,861 in 2023) and 134% in spending, according to data estimated by Turespaña based on INE microdata. As for South Korea, the increase over the same period of time is 258.4% in tourists (from 57,448 to 205,920) and the increase of 215% in tourist spending.

On the other hand, the United States is another country that stands out. The arrival of American tourists has increased by 54.7% compared to the first half of 2022. In addition, the total spending of the US tourist experienced a growth of 61% compared to the same period last year.. It should also be noted that this 2023 has 23 direct routes between US and Spanish destinations, one more than in 2022.