Spain is set to be the fourth top destination for tourists in 2022, behind Switzerland, with the United States and the United Kingdom in first and second place respectively. This is according to a report by the Mastercard Economic Institute. Let's have a closer look at the statistics and tourism in Spain in 2022.
The document, which provides key information on the current state of tourism in 37 markets, highlights that positive developments in the pandemic and the return to normality in much of the world, with the exception of parts of Asia-Pacific, have boosted travel bookings.
Data shows that global leisure flight bookings exceeded 2019 levels by 25% at the end of April 2022, while short-haul flight bookings were up 25% and medium-haul bookings were up 27%. In addition, global business flight bookings exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time in March 2022, with double-digit growth in long-haul in April. The return to the office was a driving factor.
Cruises, buses and trains see a strong rebound in spending in 2022, as Covid restrictions are relaxed. Overall cruise spending grew 62 percentage points from January to the end of April, although it remains below 2019 levels.
Bus trips have regained their pre-pandemic level, while spending on train tickets per passenger remains 7% below. In addition, car travel remains attractive, with spending on tolls and car rental up by almost 19% and 12%, respectively.
The study also notes that travellers are spending more on experiences than on objects for most of the year, with experiential spending now 34% above 2019 levels. The areas showing the biggest increases in spending are bars and nightclubs (72%) and amusement parks, museums, concerts and other recreational activities (35%).
When it come to specific tourism in Spain statistics, according to Turespaña data, Spain received a total of 18.72 million passengers from international airports up to April, an increase of 658.5% over the same period last year, although this still represents 26.1% less than in 2019.
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