International travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11% to $838 billion this year, with France and Spain among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists, according to a report by the World Travel and Tourism Council. The rosy forecast may be influenced in part by some tourists avoiding the United States as the WTTC expects foreign visitors' spending in the U.S. to decline by about 7% this year.
The group's CEO, Julia Simpson, told a press briefing that neighbouring Canadians and Mexicans might opt against travel to the U.S. in light of President Donald Trump's trade and migration policies, or unfavourable currency exchange rates, "which means that more people will come to Europe". The WTTC, which represents the travel industry's private sector, estimated tourists would spend 6% - or 113.2 billion euros ($127.7 billion) - more in Spain this year than in 2024, with between 98 and 100 million visitors topping last year's record of 94 million.
"Americans will continue to travel abroad ... and they will be very welcome in Spain," Simpson said. According to the WTTC, France will still receive more tourists than Spain, while the U.S. remains the world's largest travel and tourism market.
The Balearics welcomed 810,045 international tourists in the first quarter of this year, 3.6% more than in the same period in 2024, and tourist spending amounted to 1.043 billion euros, an increase of 8.7%. The data on tourist movements at borders (Frontur) published on Monday by the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that Spain received 17.1 million international tourists between January and March, 5.7% more than in the same period last year, a new record for arrivals.
According to the Egatur tourist spending survey, the total expenditure of the 424,227 international visitors to the Balearics, down 0.9%, was 578 million euros in March, 10.1% more than a year ago, and the average expenditure per tourist reached 1,361 euros, up 11%. According to these figures, the average daily expenditure per foreign tourist in the Balearics in March was 194 euros, with a year-on-year variation of 8.4%. The average length of stay was 7 days, an increase of 2.5%.
During the first quarter, international tourist spending in the Balearic Islands totalled 1.043 billion euros, up 8.7%, and average spending per tourist reached 1,287 euros, an increase of 4.95%. Between January and March, international tourists in the Balearics spent an average of 180 euros per day, with an annual variation of 7.9%, and the average length of stay for these visitors was 7.1 days, down 2.8%.