Live music driving Spain’s cultural recovery

Concerts and festivals have been credited with driving the recovery of cultural tourism in Spain, with many segments now out-performing pre-pandemic levels.

Spain’s Association of Musical Promoters (APM) reports that the country received 11.9 million trips from overseas visitors motivated by culture in 2022, generating €15 billion for the economy – close to 2019 figures – according to data from the Resident Tourism Survey and the Tourist Expenditure Survey.

Spanish residents made 16.4 million cultural trips in the same period, spending more than €8.8bn. Around one in every five trips made last year was motivated by cultural activities or shows.

The country received 11.9m trips from international visitors motivated by culture reasons – representing 19.3% of all visits – with the average duration growing from 5.8 to 6.1 days since 2019. Foreign visitors also increased their spending by €190 for each trip, with Madrid, Catalonia, Andalusia and Valencia proving the most popular destinations.

Ticket sales revenue reached record levels in 2022

The data was compiled by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and published by the Ministry of Culture and Sports.

APM previously revealed that ticket sales revenue reached record levels in 2022. The organisation said box office takings of more than €459 million soared 191.3% on 2021, a year restricted by the pandemic, but were also up 20% on the previous best, set in the last pre-Covid year of 2019.

The biggest-selling tours were by Spanish rock band Fito & Fitipaldis, Alejandro Sanz and Manuel Carrasco, while Marc Anthony was the year’s best-selling international act, followed by Red Hot Chili Peppers and Morat. The top music festivals were Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Madrid’s Mad Cool and Arenal Sound in Burriana.

A string of festivals in Spain recently reported strong attendance figures for 2023.

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