Italy vs Spain: Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes
Italy
46.48 million trips
in 2024
Spain
88.51 million trips
in 2024
Italy rank
4th
Spain rank
1st
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes 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 arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes, Italy or Spain?
- Spain, at 88.51 million trips against 46.48 million trips in Italy as of 2024.
- What is the difference in arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes 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 arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes?
- 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 Arrivals of tourists from abroad for personal purposes. 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.