International tourist arrival growth slows down to only 1% in 2025

Catalonia ended 2025 with just slightly more tourists than the previous year, as the postpandemic growth slowed down to only 1.2% in the past 12 months, to almost 20 million arrivals –two and a half times the population of the country.

Talking to the Catalan News Agency (ACN) from Madrid this week, business minister Miquel Sàmper welcomed the figures offered by Spain's statistics institute (INE), saying that two out of three visitors set a foot in Catalonia outside the high season.

"It is very good news," he said, arguing that this helps ease the summer massification, one of the government's goals in this field.

Also, Sàmper said that while figures seem to be curbing, turnover is not affected, because the total spending of tourists was €25 billion, a 4.5% growth compared to 2024, 5.1% up daily to €220. The whole trip surged 3.3% per person to €1,230.

For him, this trend will help to extend the season for some businesses such as "restaurants, hotels, campsites or rural accommodation."

France was the main nationality of international tourists once more, with 3.9 million and a 1.5% annual increase, ahead of the United Kingdom (1.8 million) and the US (1.7 million), both of which in a downward trend.

On the other hand, European countries such as the Netherlands, with over 800,000 visitors, or Ireland and Belgium, with half a million each, were clearly on the rise.

So was the case of Asian tourism, with Japanese market going up by 20% compared to 2024, and China and South Korea also reporting an uptick.

Those visiting from the rest of Spain also went on the rise, by 5.7% to reach 5.6 million.