Spaniards travelled more in 2016 and spent higher sums on their holidays

Very few went abroad – in fact, only 8.6% left Spain for their holidays, with the remaining 91.4% travelling to other parts of the country – but the number of those who took a break somewhere away from home was up by 3.7% year-on-year by the end of 2016.

And total spending came in at just under €41.4 billion – an increase of 9.1%.

Those who travelled abroad parted with more cash – although more than nine in 10 opted for 'staycations', they spent 68% of the total, whilst the 8.6% who left the country shelled out 32% of the total.

The average daily spend for those who stayed in Spain came to €44, compared with €96 for those who went to other countries.

Over 780.3 million nights were spent away from home by Spaniards last year, an annual increase of 4.1%, of which 82.4% were in Spain and the remaining 17.6% abroad.

In the case of 64% of trips away, Spanish travellers chose traditional accommodation such as hotels and registered apartments, villas or holiday parks, with the average daily spend – including place of overnight stay – being €125, compared with €28 for those who chose other types of accommodation, which included holiday homes or main residences of friends or family.

Family and friend visits accounted for 38.6% of trips away, whilst 47.2% were purely for leisure and tourism, and the remainder for business.

Andalucía welcomed the largest number of Spanish travellers – 17.5% - followed by Catalunya, at 12.3%, and Valencia and Castilla y León at 9.4% each.

Regions which saw the fewest national visitors were La Rioja (0.8%), Navarra (1.4%) and the Balearic Islands (1.8%).

Those who went to the Canary Islands spent the most – an average of €67 a day – followed by Madrid at €66 and the Balearics at €64.

Those who spent the least travelled to Castilla-La Mancha (€32 a day), Castilla y León, and Extremadura (both €33 a day).

Madrid was home to the most nomadic Spaniards last year, with 19% of residents of Spanish nationality taking a trip away somewhere, followed by those from Andalucía (15.8%) and from Catalunya (15.7%).

Overall, Spaniards took 38 million holidays or mini-breaks to another part of the country or abroad last year, with 'staycations' rising by 7.7% in total and foreign trips by 16.5%.