The footprint of American tourists visiting Spain in summer 2022

MAO, SPAIN – Mabrian, a leading tourism intelligence company, published and presents its new study called ‘The impact of American tourists in Spain’, which collects and analyses data relating to the stays of  United States visitors during summer 2022 to Spain – including data such as the types of tourists, the profile (age, economic level, level of studies), the average stay, the interests and the visits and activities that have aroused their interest during their visit to Spanish destinations.

In total, data from 38,933 tourists from the United States who visited Spain from June to August 2022 have been studied and analyzed by Mabrian. Specifically, the study looked at those who visited the destinations of Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Seville, Menorca and Tenerife.

Regarding the origin and profile of the Americans who have visited Spain this summer, Mabrian has concluded that half of tthose came mainly from 10 cities, including New York (14%), Miami (9%) and Los Angeles (6%), followed by San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Orlando and Dallas. In these cities, demand was concentrated in three or four specific neighborhoods. Regarding their profile, half of these visitors were over 35 years old, had an average salary of more than 75,000 dollars and had completed university studies. 

As for the length of their trip, most Americans who visited urban destinations stayed between two and three days, but whilst visting Spanishislands such as Menorca or Tenerife they stayed between 4 and 7 days. In general, American tourists have been visiting this summer  15 of Spain’s 50 different provinces.

When asked if they stayed in the destination they are traveling to or moved within the territory, approximately 30% of Americans moved to more than one destination whilst in Spain. Even so, Barcelona was the destination that kept  American tourists most captive, while Sevillefor example was a destination that was done most in combination with others.

The tourist experiences that most interested Americans were those that have to do with gastronomy, shopping and active luxury, such as outdoor activities and physical exercise. Likewise, culture and green spaces were also part of the greatest interests of Americans when they visited Spain. The Americans analyzed stayed mostly in establishments and hotels of 4 and 5 stars.

Lastly, looking at data based on comments and positive /negative mentions on social media, the aspects that most add value to Americans in Spain are the perception of security and the climate, as well as their satisfaction with hotel properties, that highlight location and their cleanliness. While those that detract from their experience, and that have room for improvement , were services related to tourism product satisfaction, such as art and culture, nature, family activities, shopping and well-being, mainly.

Carlos Cendra, Director of Marketing and Sales at Mabrian comments, “The US market is one of the most interesting for European destinations, since it is clearly recovering supported by the beneficial euro-dollar exchange rate and the increase in air connectivity. It is very interesting to analyze the impact that the new air routes with destinations such as Mallorca, Tenerife and the recently announced Malaga route are generating, not only with these destinations, but also with the rest of the destinations in these regions. In this instance, for example, knowing that half of US visitors come from just 10 states and that their socioeconomic profile is high makes marketing campaigns for a Spanish destination much easier. 

“As always, knowing what experience visitors really have is vital to growing and improving the service offered by the destination. This information helps us understand how our destination is positioned, how it is perceived from the outside and how tourists value aspects such as safety, climate, hotel supply and tourist services. In short, what they think and how satisfied they are with a destination”.