The Canary Islands received 1.12 million foreign tourists in March, exceeding the one million visitors in one month mark for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The figure represents an eleven fold increase in the number of arrivals in March 2021, which stood at just 100,525 for the whole archipelago.

 

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The figures are, however, slightly down on those registered in March 2019, the year before the global health crisis began, when the Canary Islands received 1.34 million visitors from abroad. Nonetheless it is clear, despite the fact that the pandemic is far from over, that tourism is beginning to return to normality after two years of uncertainty and extreme stagnation.

The third month of 2022 has seen the Canary Islands become the most chosen Spanish destination by foreign visitors, especially the British, representing 27.9% of all travellers arriving in Spain, according to data from the borders’ survey of tourist movements released this Thursday by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics.

During the first quarter of the year, the Archipelago received at total 2.9 million international tourists, which represents an inter-annual increase of 990.9%, which has meant the region concentrates 35.6% of all spending by travellers arriving in Spain (€4,216 million), in March it was 33.1% of the total, representing €1.68 billion.

Tourist spending has increased by 1,042.5% in the Canary Islands since last year. A welcome return.

The islands were also the destination with the most overnight stays in March: almost 10.8 million, 837.7% more than in March 2021.