Catalonia welcomes over 1 million foreign tourists in January for first time

Catalonia kicked off 2025 by welcoming a record 1,076,814 foreign tourists in January, the first time it has surpassed one million visitors for that particular month, according to data from Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE), 

Provisional data showed a 12.4% increase on January 2023, the fourth consecutive year that Catalonia experienced an increase in the number of tourists in January.  

Catalonia was the second favorite destination for tourists in Spain, accounting for 21.3% of total visitors, behind the Canary Islands (26.9%).  

Visitors spent €163 a day during their stay in Catalonia, up 2.5% on last year. However, tourists reduced their stay by 10%, from an average of 6.89 days to 6.24 days.   

Tourists in Spain spent most money in Madrid, followed by the Canary Islands, with Catalonia in third place. 

The total number of international tourists visiting Spain in January was 5.1 million, 6.1% more than last year.  

Average daily expenditure was €165 euros, up 4.3%. The average stay fell by 1.5%, to 8.6 days.