Deep pockets: British holidaymakers spent €48 million per day in Spain last year

Awash with Britons: Spain’s beaches, resorts, hotels and cities continue to attract UK holidaymakers – who are more than happy to spend.

Every man and his dog knows that, when it comes to holidaying in the sun, Britons prefer to flock to Spain over any other destination on the planet.

But not content with being the biggest property investors and tourist group in Spain in 2017, the British were also the biggest spenders. Sort of…

Collectively, British holidaymakers in Spain last year spent €48 million per day, or the equivalent of €2 million EVERY HOUR. In overall terms, this figure accounted for 20.1% of all spending by tourists in Spain in 2017. Throughout the year, tourism spending in the country reached €86.82 billion, of which Brits accounted for €17.42 billion.

German tourists spent more per head than Brits – just about – but as a group their €12.2 billion spent in Spain last year was below that of the British, primarily due to the fact that fewer Germans holidayed in Spain in 2017 than Britons: 18.78 million British tourists versus 11.89 million German tourists.

Holidaymakers from France and Scandinavia each pumped a further €7 billion into Spain’s coffers last year, helping to propel tourism to 11% of the country’s GDP – a figure that makes it one of the most vital industries in the country.

This data comes from Spain’s Ministry of Tourism, and just goes to highlight how important it is for Spain to continue attracting not only sun-seekers but also city break visitors, golfers, hikers and year-round culture vultures to its fantastic cities.

Overall, more than 81 million people visited Spain in 2017 – an annual increase of 8.6%.