Catalonia receives 12.58 million tourists through the end of August, up 4.3%

• • In August alone, more than 2.5 million foreign tourists visited Catalonia, up 3%
• • Since 2010, 2.6 million people have chosen to visit Catalonia because of the country’s safety record

According to the Survey of Tourist Movements at Borders (Enquesta de moviments turístics a fronteres – Frontur), presented just a few days ago by the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), Catalonia welcomed 12.58 million foreign tourists between January and August this year, up 4.3% from the same period in 2015.

The survey also highlights that in August alone, 2.5 million foreign tourists visited Catalonia, 3% more than last year, with France and the United Kingdom being the main countries from which they came. This makes it the top tourist destination in Spain for this past August, accounting for 24.7% of the total.

Spain as a whole welcomed 52.5 million foreign tourists in the first eight months of this year, up 10.1%from the same period in 2015. The country received 10.1 million foreigners in August, which is 5.8% morethan the previous year. Catalonia is trailed by the Balearic Islands, with 22.7% of the total, and Andalusia, with 13.5%.

40% of new tourists come to Catalonia for its safety, after discarding other destinations
Furthermore, according to BBVA Research, overnight stays by foreign tourists in Catalonia have increased more than 7 million since 2010. The study estimates that 38% of this increase is due to political instability in competing markets, which has led 2.6 million people to visit Catalonia for safety reasons since 2010, after discarding other options.