
Beautiful beaches, culturally fascinating cities, and great weather. It should come as no surprise that Andalucia is such a popular tourist destination. And forecasts suggest that in the 2025 season the region will reach 37 million visitors.
So how does this compare with last year’s figures? And how does the region cope with this influx of extra visitors? Here’s everything you need to know:
2024 Was A Historic Year For Andalusia
If you were in Andalusia last summer then you may have noticed that the streets (and the beaches) felt a little busier than usual.
According to the president of the Junta de Andalucia, Juanma Moreno, tourism in the region achieved historic revenue in 2024. Almost 30 billion euros was brought into the region by tourists. The region has also seen a growth in visitor numbers and in stable employment in the tourism sector for its residents.
And the headline of this announcement is that Andalusia is currently preparing for the arrival of an incredible 37 million tourists in 2025.
This will be another record year for the region, on top of what was also a record year in 2024. Last year Andalusia welcomed a record number of visitors (36.2 million). This was an increase of 5.5% compared to 2023 and raised 30 billion euros in revenue (an increase of 13.3% compared to 2023).
Increased Tourist Spending In Andalusia
Andalucia hasn’t just increased the number of its tourists, but also the quality of its tourists and the amount that they are spending. According to Moreno, "revenue grew twice as much as the number of visitors" - "a clearly positive figure". He then went on to state that the average tourist in Andalucia "spent around 82 euros a day, 5.5% more than in 2023 and 23% more than in 2019".
Increased revenue raised is great news for the region's residents. And in more great news for the regions, residents 400,000 jobs were created for the people of Andalucia.
2024 was a great year for Andalusia. It saw the region both recover and surpass the pre-pandemic level in international tourist arrivals, exceeding the 2019 figures by half a million, with 13 million foreign and 23.1 million local tourists.
It’s also interesting to note that while historically Andalusia (and Spain in general) are considered seasonal destinations with higher visitor numbers in the summer months. However in 2024 this seasonality was reduced with a rate of 33%, achieving also a greater distribution of visitor flows throughout the territory.
Visitor numbers during the high season grew by 4%, but the region saw an even greater increase of 10% between January and March. This means you can expect to find tourists in the region throughout the year.
Why Has Tourism In Andalusia Grown?
According to Juanma Moreno it isn’t an accident that tourism in Andalusia has grown. He stated that "These figures are not the result of chance. It is time to make transitions to improve and to generate more wealth and quality employment. They are the result of intelligent promotion in search of the tourist we are most interested in: the one who spends the most and who travels outside the high season. A tourist who strengthens an industry that is more sustainable, more technological and better distributed over time and territory."
Growth isn’t just from visitors in the UK either (historically the main market in the region. Moreno also highlighted the fact that the region has managed to maintain an average growth rate of 50% in markets such as the United States, the Netherlands and Italy. It’s important to note here that there’s been a 10% increase in flights to Andalusia from America, bringing more American tourists to the region.
So What Will 2025 Look Like?
So what should we expect to see the Andalusian tourism sector look like in 2025? When discussing the coming year Moreno said that "we continue to make good progress. We have to prepare for a good year in which we expect more than 37 million holidaymakers. The objective is the quality of those who visit us and the benefits they bring."
To maintain tourism and protect the environment of the region, there will be an increased focus on sustainability and regenerative tourism. There will be a new ethics for tourism code introduced in Andalusia to focus on this, as well as a 40 million euro fund to aid the rational use of energy and water, as well as pioneering projects such as the green corridor of electric propulsion between Tarifa and Tangiers.
Tourism figures remain incredibly high in Andalusia and the region is well prepared, and ready, to welcome even more visitors in 2025.
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