Tourist Movements at Borders (FRONTUR)

The number of tourists choosing market accommodation as the main type of accommodation increased by 15.2% in the annual rate. Within this type, hotel accommodation grew by 11.4% and rented dwellings by 49.1%.

Non-market accommodation increased by 15.5%.

Canarias was the main tourist destination in January, with 27.7% of the total. It was followed by Cataluña (20.1%) and Andalucía (14.0%).

9.2% more tourists visited Canarias than in January 2023. The number of tourists who visited Cataluña increased by 20.3% and those who visited Andalucía rose by 17.4%.

The main objective of the Tourist Movement on Borders Survey (FRONTUR) is to estimate the number of non-residents visiting Spain on a monthly basis, as well as to know the main characteristics of the trips made by these visitors. For the preparation of FRONTUR the international definitions and recommendations of the UNWTO and Eurostat in this field are followed.

Type of operation: continuous monthly statistics.

Population scope: this refers to non-residents in Spain who enter our country, whether or not they have stayed overnight, as well as those who pass through our country in transit.

Geographical scope: the entire national territory. The sample is collected at the main access points for non-resident travelers, both by road, airport, port and rail.

Reference period of the results: the month.

Sample size: the annual theoretical sample size of FRONTUR exceeds 450,000 surveys, which are distributed throughout the year, taking into account the seasonality of passenger flows.

Type of sampling: the sample design, a series of strata have been defined for each form of entry that group together border points, airports, ports or railway lines, respectively. In the road and airport sample allocation, the day of the week in which the survey has been carried out is also identified, differentiating between working days, weekends and holidays. Furthermore, in airports 20 air relations are defined (Spanish airport of origin-country of destination airport) which also determine the sample design in this form of access.

Collection method: information is collected by direct interview when the traveler leaves Spain, using a multilingual electronic questionnaire.

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

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