OVER 36 million holidaymakers travelled to Spain in the first six months of this year – the equivalent of 77% of the country's resident population and a rise of one in 10 on the same period in 2016, which was then considered a record year.
The Frontur survey, carried out by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), shows tourist numbers were up by 11.6% over the period of January to June inclusive based upon the same six months last year, and Brits continue to be the number one nationality opting for Spain for their holidays.
Of the exact total recorded of 36,366,010 foreign visitors, those from the UK made up 8.6 million, or 23%, having risen in number by 9.1% on last year's figures.
Germans were the second-largest national group, with 5.5 million, up by 9.6% on 2016, and the French were the third, with 4.7 million, an increase of 4.9%.
Catalunya was the top destination, with as many holidaymakers altogether as there were Brits travelling to Spain as a whole, an increase of 10.3% on the first six months of last year.
The Canary Islands, with 6.9 million – up by 9.7% - and the Balearic Islands with 5.4 million, a rise of 8.5%, were the second- and third-most popular destinations between January and June inclusive this year.
June was by far the best month out of the six – unsurprisingly, given that it is the warmest – accounting for 8.4 million holidaymakers, up by 11.6% on June 2016.
In that month alone, nearly 2.18 million Brits visited Spain, up by 4.2% on the previous year; 1.42 million Germans, up by 15.9%, and 860,000 French, or 4.4% more.
