Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain

Spain: Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes was 5.25 million trips in 2024. ▬ Flat

Latest (2024)
5.25 million trips
Change on year
up 5.6%
World rank
6th
of 175 countries
All-time high
6.11 million trips
in 2019
All-time low
1.57 million trips
in 2020
Years of data
28
1997–2024

Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain, 1997–2024

2.0M3.0M4.0M5.0M6.0M1997201020241997: 2.8M trips1998: 4.0M trips1999: 4.8M trips2000: 5.3M trips2001: 4.5M trips2002: 4.9M trips2003: 4.7M trips2004: 5.3M trips2005: 5.9M trips2006: 4.9M trips2007: 5.3M trips2008: 5.3M trips2009: 4.3M trips2010: 4.4M trips2011: 4.1M trips2012: 4.0M trips2013: 4.1M trips2014: 4.3M trips2015: 5.0M trips2016: 5.7M trips2017: 5.7M trips2018: 5.6M trips2019: 6.1M trips2020: 1.6M trips2021: 2.3M trips2022: 5.0M trips2023: 5.0M trips2024: 5.3M trips

Source: UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in trips.

Analysis

The most recent figure for arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain is 5.25 million trips, measured in 2024.

That represents a change of up 5.6% on the previous year and up 21.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain peaked at 6.11 million trips in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.57 million trips, in 2020.

That places Spain 6th out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.

Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain, year by year

Annual values for Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain, 1997 to 2024.
Year trips Change
1997 2.82 million trips —
1998 4.03 million trips +42.9%
1999 4.76 million trips +18.1%
2000 5.30 million trips +11.3%
2001 4.48 million trips -15.4%
2002 4.88 million trips +8.7%
2003 4.72 million trips -3.1%
2004 5.29 million trips +11.9%
2005 5.92 million trips +12.1%
2006 4.92 million trips -17.0%
2007 5.28 million trips +7.3%
2008 5.27 million trips -0.1%
2009 4.34 million trips -17.7%
2010 4.38 million trips +0.9%
2011 4.12 million trips -5.9%
2012 3.97 million trips -3.4%
2013 4.07 million trips +2.4%
2014 4.31 million trips +5.9%
2015 4.98 million trips +15.4%
2016 5.70 million trips +14.6%
2017 5.71 million trips +0.1%
2018 5.64 million trips -1.2%
2019 6.11 million trips +8.4%
2020 1.57 million trips -74.4%
2021 2.27 million trips +45.0%
2022 4.95 million trips +118.1%
2023 4.97 million trips +0.4%
2024 5.25 million trips +5.6%

Spain compared with similar countries

  • Spain's 5.25 million trips is above the median for high income countries, which is 279,289 trips, 18.8× the median. (62 countries reporting)
  • Spain's 5.25 million trips is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 760,000 trips, 6.9× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
2022 +118.1% 2.27 million trips 4.95 million trips
2020 -74.4% 6.11 million trips 1.57 million trips

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 3.87 million trips 2.82 million trips 4.76 million trips 3
2000s 5.04 million trips 4.34 million trips 5.92 million trips 10
2010s 4.90 million trips 3.97 million trips 6.11 million trips 10
2020s 3.80 million trips 1.57 million trips 5.25 million trips 5

Countries ranked near Spain

  1. 3 Russia 7.52 million trips compare
  2. 4 United Kingdom 6.93 million trips compare
  3. 5 China 6.28 million trips compare
  4. 7 Poland 3.89 million trips compare
  5. 8 United Arab Emirates 3.75 million trips compare
  6. 9 Portugal 3.56 million trips compare

See the full ranking of 175 places →

More reference data data for Spain

All data for Spain →

Frequently asked questions

What is arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain?
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain was 5.25 million trips in 2024, according to UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes recorded in Spain?
The highest recorded value was 6.11 million trips in 2019.
What is the lowest arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes recorded in Spain?
The lowest recorded value was 1.57 million trips in 2020.
How does Spain rank for arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes?
Spain ranks 6th out of 175 countries with data for 2024.
Is arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes rising or falling in Spain?
Over the last ten years it is up 21.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Spain data come from?
The figures come from UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain. Statizoid, drawing on UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/international-trips-for-business-and-professional-reasons/spain/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/international-trips-for-business-and-professional-reasons/spain/">Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes in Spain</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Arrivals of tourists from abroad for business purposes
Unit
trips
Source
UN Tourism (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
175 places, 3,919 data points, 1995–2024
Last refreshed

Number of international trips where the main purpose is business-related and the visitor stays overnight.