Visitors from Spain

1. Market performance 2024

In 2024, Spain was Scotland’s tenth largest international source market, measured by number of visits. It was ranked twelfth by expenditure and tenth by number of nights.

Spanish visitors accounted for 3% of all overseas visits to Scotland and 2% of all overseas spend in Scotland in 2024.

After a strong performance in 2023, the Spanish market declined in 2024 with visits, spend and nights down 32%, 30%, and 41% respectively on 2023.

However, visits, spend, and nights in 2024 still outperformed pre-pandemic levels with visits increasing by 7% and spend increasing by 47% compared to pre-pandemic. The average spend per visit in 2024 was £551, an increase of 2% on 2023.

The average length of stay was 6.2 nights, a decrease from an average of 7.2 nights in 2023.

Source: International Passenger Survey, 2024

3. Official statistics and partners

The International Passenger Survey is a continuous survey carried out by the Office for National Statistics. It covers all major air, sea and tunnel ports. 

The survey provides information on the numbers and types of visits made by people travelling to and from the UK. Anonymous face to face interviews are undertaken with a sample of passengers entering and leaving the UK.

Find out more on the survey methodology on ons.gov.uk.

Read further ONS publications on ons.gov.uk.

Read how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the IPS data collection on visitbritain.org.