Catalonia receives the highest number of tourists in the last decade in a first four-month period

BarcelonaThe heat arrives and, with it, the peak months of tourism in Catalonia. This year the season kicks off after a record first quarter. Catalonia received the highest number of visitors in this period of the last decade between January and April, and it is also the year they have spent the most.

According to data from the National Statistics Institute published this Tuesday, nearly 5.4 million people came during these four months, 40,000 more than last year. The year-on-year increase is only 0.76%, but it confirms that the threshold of five million visitors – not surpassed in any first quarter until 2024 – has been left behind.

Tourists also dug deeper into their pockets. The average spending per person was 1,207 euros, 13% more than the 1,069 euros in 2025. For the first time in the last decade, each visitor spent more than 1,100 euros.

The increase in spending was accompanied by longer stays. Visitors spent an average of six nights in Catalonia. The only year they spent more time here on average was 2021, after the pandemic, when the average stood at 6.56 nights. In 2025, each person who visited Catalonia during the first four months made an average of 5.43 overnight stays, and the previous year, 5.49.

Leading figure in state tourism

During the first four-month period, Catalonia concentrated 20% of the tourists who entered the State and 17.7% of the spending. It was the second territory that attracted the most visitors, only behind the Canary Islands.

However, there are others that experienced much more pronounced increases compared to the same period of the previous year. If Catalonia received 0.8% more tourists, for the State as a whole, arrivals increased by an average of 3.4%, led by the Valencian Community (9.2%), Andalusia (6.4%), and the Community of Madrid (5.8%).

By origin, the influx of French people stands out, representing around 19% of visitors between January and April –1.04 million people–; Italians, who were 8.2% –445,570 people–; English –7.8%, 421,136 people–, and Americans –7.4%, with 400,848 people.

The item to which tourists allocate the most resources is activities (21.1%), above international transport (20.9%), accommodation (17.7%), and food (17%).