Italy vs Spain: International trips for personal vs. business and professional reasons
Italy
46.48 million trips
in 2024
Spain
88.51 million trips
in 2024
Italy rank
4th
Spain rank
1st
International trips for personal vs. business and professional reasons over time
- Italy
- Spain
How they compare
Spain currently reports 88.51 million trips against 46.48 million trips in Italy, a difference of 42.03 million trips.
That makes Spain's figure about 1.9 times Italy's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 28 shared years of data; in 1997 it was Italy ahead.
Italy ranks 4th and Spain ranks 1st of 179 countries.
Across the 4 decades both report, Italy averaged higher in 3 and Spain in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Italy | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 50.12 million trips | 37.62 million trips | 12.51 million trips | Italy |
| 2000s | 54.06 million trips | 48.01 million trips | 6.05 million trips | Italy |
| 2010s | 68.28 million trips | 63.46 million trips | 4.82 million trips | Italy |
| 2020s | 33.79 million trips | 56.34 million trips | 22.55 million trips | Spain |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher international trips for personal vs. business and professional reasons, Italy or Spain?
- Spain, at 88.51 million trips against 46.48 million trips in Italy as of 2024.
- What is the difference in international trips for personal vs. business and professional reasons between Italy and Spain?
- 42.03 million trips, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and Spain?
- 28 years are reported by both, from 1997 to 2024.
- How do Italy and Spain rank globally for international trips for personal vs. business and professional reasons?
- Italy ranks 4th and Spain ranks 1st of 179 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as International trips for personal vs. business and professional reasons. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Number of international trips where the main purpose is personal (leisure, visiting friends and relatives, health, etc.) and the visitor stays overnight.