Following the challenging pandemic years and thanks to new work-from-home models, tourism in Europe has grown over the last three years, even surpassing pre-pandemic levels. This influx of tourists made Spain the highest earner from tourism on the continent in 2023, reaching approximately $90 billion (over €82.2 billion), according to a post by The European Correspondent based on Statista’s study.
Before COVID-19, Spain earned approximately €73 billion annually in tourism revenue. However, in 2020, the worst year of the pandemic, revenues fell to less than €20 billion. Since then, tourism has grown significantly across Europe, with virtually every country on the continent surpassing its 2019 figures in the past year.
The German statistics portal ranks Spain as the only country to exceed $80 billion (more than €73.1 billion), and the United Kingdom and France as the only countries to exceed $60 billion (almost €55 billion).
Also noteworthy is Italy's revenue, which is close to €55 billion, and Germany's revenue, which is around €36.5 billion.