26 March 2024

Residents Travel Survey (ETR/FAMILITUR)

Fourth Quarter 2023 and year 2023

Main results

  • The number of trips made by residents in Spain increased by 10.0% in the fourth quarter and stood at 41.7 million.
  • Total expenditure increased by 18.7% and exceeded 12,542 million euros.
  • Andalucía, Cataluña and Comunitat Valenciana were the main destinations.
  • In 2023, the number of trips increased by 8.5% and expenditure by 16.8%.

Residents in Spain made 41.7 million trips in the fourth quarter, 10.0% more than that registered in the same period of 2022.

Trips whose main destination was the national territory increased by 9.7% and those abroad by 12.4%.

Trips and average duration by destination. Quarter IV 2023

Trips by purpose and accommodation

Leisure, recreation and holiday trips increased by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, Visits to relatives or friends increased by 6.6%.

Trips for Business and other professional reasons increased by 13.7% and those made for Other reasons by 10.4%.

Trips by main purpose. Quarter IV 2023

By type of accommodation, domestic trips where residents stayed with relatives or friends increased by 8.1%. In foreign trips, hotel accommodation grew by 8.4%.

Main destinations and Autonomous Communities of origin

The main Autonomous Communities of destination for trips by residents in the fourth quarter were Andalucía (16.3% of the total), Cataluña (12.2%) and Comunitat Valenciana (8.7%).

Trips by destination (abroad and autonomous communities). Quarter IV 2023

Note: the data marked with "-" do not have sufficient sampling support.

In terms of origin, trips made by residents in Cataluña accounted for 16.1% of the total. It was followed by Andalucía (16.0%) and Comunidad de Madrid (15.7%).

Eliminating the effect of the size of each community, the most travellers are residents of the Comunidad Foral de Navarra (1,172 trips per 1,000 inhabitants), La Rioja (1,155) and País Vasco (1,131).

Trip expenditure

The total travel expenditure in the fourth quarter reached 12,542.0 million euros, indicating an 18.7% increase as compared with the same period of 2022. Total spendings on domestic trips increased by 15.8% and on trips abroad by 24.3%.

The average daily expenditure was 89 euros –72 euros for domestic trips and 144 euros for trips abroad–.

Expenditure by destination. Quarter IV 2023

By expenditure items, the highest expenditure on domestic trips was on bars and restaurants, with 26.1% of the total and an annual increase of 18.4%. For trips abroad, the highest expenditure was on transport, with 30.9% of the total and an increase of 21.6%.

Expenditure by item of expenditure according to destination. Quarter IV 2023

By main destination, the highest average daily expenditure was recorded for trips to Illes Balears (106 euros), Comunidad de Madrid (99) and País Vasco (92). And the lowest in Castilla-La Mancha (52 euros), Castilla y León (55) and Región de Murcia and Extremadura (both 57).

By origin, the highest average daily expenditures were made by residents in Illes Balears (120 euros), Cantabria (97) and Canarias, Cataluña and País Vasco (all three with 94). And the lowest in Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura (both 73 euros), and Castilla y León (82).

Monthly data

December recorded the highest number of trips this quarter (15.6 million) and the longest average duration (3.6 overnight stays).

Excursions

The population aged 15 and over made 48.0 million trips in the fourth quarter, an annual decrease of 1.9%. Of these, 96.9% were for personal reasons.

Results for the whole of 2023

In 2023 as a whole, residents in Spain made 185.9 million trips, representing an increase of 8.5% compared with the previous year. Domestic trips increased by 7.3%, while trips abroad increased by 19.6%.

Overnight stays corresponding to those trips exceeded 802 million, with an increase of 7.5%. In turn, the total associated expenditure rose by 16.8%, to 58,750.0 million euros.

89.6% of trips had Spain as main destination and 10.4% abroad. Domestic trips accounted for 80.2% of overnight stays and 67.6% of the total expenditure, with an average daily expenditure of 62 euros.

In turn, trips abroad accounted for 19.8% of overnight stays and 32.4% of the total expenditure, with an average daily expenditure of 120 euros.

Trips, overnight stays and expenditure by destination (abroad and Autonomous Communities). Year 2023

Note: the data marked with "-" do not have sufficient sampling support.

Data reviews and updates

The data published today are final. All the results of this operation are available at  INEbase.

Methodological note

The objective of the Residents Travel Survey (ETR/FAMILITUR) is to provide information on the trips and excursions carried out by the population resident in Spain, both within the country and abroad, and their main characteristics (duration, expenditure, reason, accommodation, etc.).

In addition, it provides annual information on the percentage of the population travelling for personal reasons and investigates the reasons given by those who do not travel.

Type of operation:
quarterly continuous survey.
Population scope:
population aged 15 and over living in family homes in Spain.
Geographical scope:
the entire national territory.
Reference period of the results:
month, quarter, year (depending on the variable).
Sample size:
the effective monthly sample is around 8,200 persons, who provide information on the trips completed in the two months prior to the interview. The results of a reference month are obtained from around 16,400 questionnaires.
Sample type:
stratified three-stage random sample from the Georeferenced Address Framework. The first-stage units are census sections, the second-stage units are dwellings (a person aged 15 or over has been selected within each dwelling).
Collection method:
telephone and face-to-face interviews and online questionnaire.

For more information, you can access the methodology and the standardised methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information on Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.

For further information see Inicio INEbase Official INE account on @es_ine
All press releases at:
www.ine.es/en/prensa/prensa_en.htm
Press office:
(+34) 91 583 93 63 / 94 08gprensa@ine.es
Information area:
(+34) 91 583 91 00www.ine.es/infoine/?L=1