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

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

According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) published this Tuesday, nearly 5.4 million people visited 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.

According to the expert in tourism economics at UB, Albert de Gregorio, these figures indicate that in Catalonia, "no actions are being taken to limit the number of visitors." De Gregorio says that the increase in months traditionally slow in the tourism sector does not imply that the activity is being de-seasonalized.

"De-seasonalizing means reducing visitors in periods of high attendance and increasing them in times of less activity. But this is not happening, now we simply have more people all year round," he criticizes. For this summer, Gregorio predicts visitor growth, in line with other European destinations, due to global geopolitical instability.

More spending and more nights

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. On an aggregate level, for the first time in the first four months of the year, tourist spending exceeded the 6,000 million euro barrier, reaching 6,498.51 million.

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

"There are no structural actions to reduce low-cost tourism", says Gregorio, although he does believe that the extension of stays is moving in this direction. The UB professor has called for measures to "make tourism more expensive and improve salaries" in the sector.

Benchmark in tourism in the State

During the first semester, Catalonia concentrated 20% of the tourists entering 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. While Catalonia received 0.8% more tourists, arrivals in the State as a whole 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 visitors stands out, representing around 19% of visitors between January and April – 1.04 million people –; Italians, who accounted for 8.2% – 445,570 people –; English – 7.8%, 421,136 people –; and Americans – 7.4%, 400,848 people.

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