Madrid Sets Record with more than 8 Million Tourists
August 25th, 2011
The city of Madrid has beaten “all records” receiving 8.12 million tourists in the past year, up 6.7% from a year ago. A total of 728,722 tourists visited the city of Madrid in July, and is “the highest figure ever recorded for the month of July,” according to the City Council.
This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 9.8%, two-tenths higher than that recorded by the Community of Madrid (9.6%) and 3.1 points higher than the whole of Spain (6.7%). The increase in visits to Madrid is supported by a growth of 8% in domestic tourists (an increase well above the national average which was 1.9%) and an 11.4% increase in foreign visitors (the overall increase in Spain was 13.5%).
Cinco Dias reported that, by country, visitors from the United Kingdom stood out, with an increase of 16.6%, followed by Portugal, with an increase of 10.4%. Visitors from France and Japan increased by 5.1% and 2.8%, respectively, Italy grew very slightly by 0.21% while the U.S. had a slight decrease of 0.3% and Germany fell by 5.5%. Also noteworthy is the increase of tourists from countries like Belgium and the Netherlands (with increases of 32.7% and 34.3% respectively). Russia, with a 39.2% increase recorded the highest growth, and visitors from Latin America increased by 26.7%, continuing to consolidate Madrid’s position as leading provider for non-resident tourists.
Among nationals, the three main communities experiencing growth of tourists to Madrid were Andalusia which recorded a significant growth of 31.4%, while Catalonia and Valencia remained virtually unchanged, with growth of 0.1% and 0.6% respectively. In the first seven months of the year 4.7 million people visited the city of Madrid, which is 5.7% more than in 2010, and is, according to the Council, “the best performance ever recorded”.
Overnight stays also registered the highest figures recorded for the month of July. Specifically there were 1,389,791 overnight stays registered, representing an improvement over July 2010 of 10.5%. This variation is in line with the Community of Madrid (at 11%) and is 2.8 points ahead of Spain (at 7.7%) This growth is based on a 7.7% increase in domestic tourists (in Spain only up 1.3%) and 12.5% in foreign tourists (growth in line with that recorded for the whole of Spain, with 14.1%).
Again highlighted were visitors from the UK, with an increase of 28.9%, and following them, with more modest growth were France (7.6%), United States (5.7%), Portugal (4.9%) and Italy (2.2%), while Germany fell by 3.6% and Japan by 2.1%. Overnight stays followed the same pattern as for travellers, with good figures registering for Belgium and the Netherlands within the EU, and Russia, which grew by 53.8%, and the upward trend continued for those from Latin America with an increase of 20.7%. Among nationals, the communities registering the most overnight stays in Madrid were Andalusia with an increase of 29.1%, and Valencia with a 2.4% increase, while Catalonia fell by 5%.
Related Posts
- Nadal Takes Madrid Open in Straight Sets
- The Prado in Madrid: One of the Most Visited Museums in the World
- Spanish Airports Record 20% Growth in April
