The consulting and professional services firm Andersen Consulting (formerly BRAINTRUST), a leader in the tourism sector, has issued a new report from its Tourism Barometer and announced a new record for foreign tourism in our country, exceeding all forecasts and reaching 98 million foreign tourists, who are expected to spend around €135.8 billion in our country, according to data provided by the consulting firm, provided that the macroeconomic environment and the geopolitical situation do not evolve very unfavorably.
The number of foreign travelers will rise to 98 million, growing by more than 4%.
According to data from Andersen Consulting, Spain is set to break yet another record for international tourists in 2025, reaching a total of 98 million foreign travelers.
Growth would reach 4.2% over the previous year's figure, when 93,799,504 foreign travelers were recorded, figures that we already reported in March last year, representing a 10.1% increase over 2023.
These figures confirm the strength of the Spain brand outside our borders, benefiting from certain external factors, such as ongoing conflicts, which continue to cause many trips to be shifted from eastern to western Europe.
It also allows us to highlight attributes of our country such as safety, accommodation capacity, magnificent infrastructure, the hospitality of the local population, the modernization of Spanish companies, and the suitability of tourism as an activity, which is undergoing a shift from a model of limited added value to a model of excellence and quality. Although there is still a long way to go, this shows that most companies in our country are doing their homework.
According to Ángel García Butragueño, Director of Tourism at Andersen Consulting: "Our data shows that, for the umpteenth consecutive year, we are set to break another record for foreign tourism in Spain, a phenomenon that will continue to be consistent given the strength of our country's tourism brand.
These forecasts will depend heavily on the global geopolitical situation, which shows storm clouds on the horizon, with economists predicting a possible recession due to the tariff conflict, but where it is very possible that Spain will once again increase its foreign tourism figures.
The real challenge lies in continuing to transform the industry while welcoming an increasing number of tourists each year. We cannot continue to focus on growth targets in terms of tourist numbers, but rather on tourist spending, pursuing a model that is sustainable economically, socially, and environmentally.
With our sights set on that goal, we must be able to design competitive models that return profits to local communities, making tourism an economic, social, and cultural driver in destinations, and that is the responsibility of all of us who make up the tourism ecosystem.
At Andersen Consulting, we closely monitor data analysis, which we pass on to those responsible for tourism management in our country, both at the public and private levels, to enable appropriate decision-making for the future.
Spending by foreign tourists would skyrocket to €135.8 billion, increasing by more than 7%.
Foreign tourism spending would skyrocket to unprecedented levels, as a result of increased visitor numbers, greater purchasing power among travelers following the fall in interest rates, and a foreseeable high demand that would allow companies in Spain to raise their prices, although these are expected to remain contained after the increases seen in recent years.
Andersen Consulting states that spending would increase to $135.8 billion, rising almost 7.5% above the already impressive figures for 2024, which were already up 16.1% on 2023.
This would mean renewed growth in all quarters, exceeding all possible forecasts and placing Spain once again at the forefront of global tourism, where it is increasingly well positioned, and making this sector a fundamental driver of the economy, with forecasts of reaching up to 15% of GDP and 20% of direct and indirect employment generated in the coming decades, placing this industry in the spotlight of all the policies of the different governments.
According to José Manuel Brell, Partner in charge of Quantitative Studies and Models, and the Tourism and Leisure Industry at Andersen Consulting: "Tourism is once again proving to be the economic engine of our country, with overwhelming strength and commendable resilience.
However, there are many challenges that we must overcome in order to achieve a truly sustainable model, diversifying both foreign sources and domestic destinations, decentralizing flows that allow us to move toward greater balance.
At Andersen Consulting, we strongly support a new form of tourism based on the value of the model, rather than massification, and we are committed to transformation, helping organizations and companies along this path, placing sustainability at the heart of the foreseeable growth we will experience in the coming years, with Spain positioning itself as the unbeatable world leader, reaching 115 million foreign tourists in 2040, according to our forecasts.
Analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating data, as we are doing once again at Andersen Consulting, reveals the keys to designing future strategies that will promote tourism that is more respectful of destinations and their residents.
Tourism will be sustainable or it will not be.
