The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) today revealed that global international visitor spending reached a record US$2.02TN in 2025, up 3.2% year-on-year and standing above pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
But while global Travel & Tourism continues its recovery, Spain is emerging as one of the world’s standout high-value travel destinations.
WTTC’s latest Economic Impact Research (EIR), sponsored by Chase Travel, Lead Research Partner, shows Spain generated €115.1BN (US$130.1BN) in international visitor spending in 2025, ranking third globally behind only the United States and China, while maintaining its position as Europe’s leading destination for international visitor spending.
With 96.8MN international visitor arrivals forecast for 2025, international travellers to Spain are expected to spend an estimated US$1,344 per visitor on average.
Across Europe, international visitor spending of approximately US$835BN spread across 782MN international arrivals equates to an average spend of around US$1,068 per traveller.
The figures reinforce Spain’s position as one of the world’s leading high-value tourism destinations, combining strong visitor volumes with exceptionally high international visitor spend.
Spain also continues to demonstrate one of the strongest international visitor spending profiles globally, with inbound visitor spending significantly outweighing domestic travel spending.
Spain’s continued success reflects sustained government support for the Travel & Tourism sector, strong public-private collaboration, and long-term investment in connectivity, transport infrastructure, and the overall visitor journey.
In 2026, international visitor spending in Spain is forecast to rise further to €121.1BN (US$136.9BN), representing annual growth of 5.3%.
WTTC’s research also highlights that destinations focusing on seamless travel and traveller experience are best placed to capture the next wave of international demand.
This includes investment in digital identity and biometric technologies to enable smoother border crossings, alongside smarter visa systems and greater regional cooperation to support multi-country travel.
By reducing friction across the traveller journey, destinations can increase visitor numbers, extend length of stay, and unlock higher visitor spend.
Gloria Guevara, President & CEO, WTTC, said:
“International visitor spending has now surpassed pre-pandemic levels globally, reaching more than US$2TN in 2025 — a powerful signal of the sector’s resilience and continued growth.
“But beyond overall growth, the real story is the rise of high-value travel. Spain is outperforming the European average for international visitor spend per traveller, demonstrating how investment in connectivity, seamless travel, and visitor experience can translate into stronger economic returns.
“With international visitors to Spain spending an estimated US$1,344 per trip on average, compared to approximately US$1,068 across Europe, the country continues to stand out as one of the region’s highest-value Travel & Tourism markets.
“Spain also has one of the strongest international visitor spending profiles globally, with inbound visitor spend significantly outweighing domestic travel spend — reinforcing the country’s position as one of the world’s most internationally competitive Travel & Tourism destinations.
“Spain has successfully positioned itself as both a volume and value leader in global Travel & Tourism.”
