Catalonia sees nearly two million foreign tourists in record October, ending three-month decline

The arrival of international tourists to Catalonia in October grew almost 10% compared to last year, reaching almost two million visitors, according to provisional data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

The precise figure –  1,979,478 – marks the best October on record since 2015, and breaks a three-month streak of year-on-year declines.

Overnight stays also rebounded to 10,908,760 nights, an increase of over 13% on October 2024.

That marks a record for October – ending five months of year-on-year declines – and is the first time overnight stays exceeded 10 million for that month.

Average daily spending per visitor rose slightly, by 0.26%, to €221.

The average length of stay for foreign tourists in October was 5.64 days, slightly above last year's 5.24 days. This is the second-highest figure for the month of October, behind the 6.27 days recorded in 2015.

Tourism growth slows

Year-to-date, Catalonia has welcomed 17,790,432 international visitors – a 1.03% increase. Although the pace of growth has slowed compared with previous years, figures are still approaching the 2024 record of 19,940,217.

Catalonia was the most popular destination in Spain for international visitors in October, attracting one out of every five tourists. The Balearic Islands ranked second followed by Andalusia (15.4%).

Across Spain, international tourist arrivals rose 3.2% year-on-year in October, reaching 9.2 million. 

The United Kingdom remained the top source market, with over 1.8 million visitors (+2.8%), followed by Germany with 1.3 million (-3.1%) and France with 1.2 million (+0.1%). Arrivals from the United States surged 11.9%, totaling 475,093.