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Foreign tourists. By country of residence

Foreign tourists. By country of residence Catalonia. 2020
Value Variation (%)
Total 3,870.3 -80.0
Germany 227.9 -84.1
Belgium 77.1 -79.1
France 1,315.9 -67.8
Ireland 27.8 -92.4
Italy 196.6 -83.7
Netherlands 142.5 -80.9
Nordic countries 77.5 -86.5
Portugal 45.4 -76.0
United Kingdom 280.1 -86.1
Russia 82.4 -89.6
Switzerland 44.4 -85.7
Rest of Europe 575.3 -75.6
Argentina 38.4 -81.7
Brazil 56.5 -76.9
Canada 44.5 -80.2
United States 148.2 -90.2
Rest of America 95.9 -80.4
Japan 62.3 -83.0
China 59.0 -83.2
Rest of the world 272.6 -82.3
Units: Thousands.
Source: Idescat, based on data of the INE's Tourist Movement on Borders Survey and Tourist Expenditure Survey.
Notes:
Between 14 March and 21 June 2020, it is in force the Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, which declares the state of alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by Covid-19.
It considers information of trips of foreign tourists whose main destination is Catalonia.
Foreign tourists. By country of residence Spain. 2020
Value Variation (%)
Total 18,933.1 -77.3
Germany 2,391.4 -78.6
Belgium 743.4 -70.6
France 3,887.8 -65.1
Ireland 329.0 -84.9
Italy 947.4 -79.1
Netherlands 918.4 -75.1
Nordic countries 1,175.3 -78.8
Portugal 762.4 -68.6
United Kingdom 3,150.2 -82.5
Russia 156.0 -88.1
Switzerland 397.1 -78.1
Rest of Europe 1,692.1 -73.7
Argentina 162.3 -77.5
Brazil 167.2 -70.4
Canada 115.1 -74.5
United States 405.8 -87.8
Rest of America 470.0 -76.8
Japan 112.9 -83.3
China 134.6 -80.8
Rest of the world 814.7 -80.9
Units: Thousands.
Source: INE. Tourist Movement on Borders Survey.
Note: Between 14 March and 21 June 2020, it is in force the Royal Decree 463/2020, of 14 March, which declares the state of alarm for the management of the health crisis situation caused by Covid-19.

Last update: February 3, 2021. Revised series on March 13, 2024.

Methodological note

Foreign Tourism in Catalonia involves data processed by Idescat based on the Survey of Tourist Movement on Borders (Frontur) and Survey of Tourist Expenditure (Egatur) from the INE.

Its goal is to measure, on a monthly basis, the number of visitors living abroad, in accordance with access routes and type of visitor, and reveal the main attributes of said trips.

This statistic encompasses the trips taken by international tourists and excursionistsaccording to the country where they normally reside(that is, the trips taken by travellers whose usual country of residence is outside Spain, regardless of their nationality).

Tourists are those people who travel to a main destination outside their usual environment, involving at least one overnight stay, for a duration of less than one year and when the main reason for the visit (including business, leisure and other personal reasons) is not connected with a job in a company established in the location visited.

Excursionists are those people who travel to a main destination outside their usual environment, involving no overnight stay. Said visits must meet the following characteristics:

  • The point of departure must be the person's usual environment.
  • The visit cannot be part of the person's daily routine.
  • It must have a duration of at least three hours.
  • Its frequency must be less than once per week.

Up until the third quarter of 2015, the Spanish Institute of Tourism was in charge of producing the Survey of Tourist Movement on Borders (Frontur) and the Survey of Tourist Expenditure (Egatur). Starting in the last quarter of 2015, the body in charge of said operations is the INE. Said shift of responsibilities also entailed a change in the design and methodology of the surveys, which means the data will not be entirely comparable to previous series.

Said methodology is expanded in Foreign Tourism.