Last July, the province of Alicante was the second most visited destination by national tourism. This is determined by the data from the study that the National Institute of Statistics (INE) carries out through the positioning of mobile phones, and which allows, among other aspects, to have a fairly precise approximation of tourist flows in Spain. According to this report, whose data has been known a few days ago – those for August will be published soon -, that month 1,158,426 people came to the province from the rest of Spain, a figure only surpassed by Madrid, which received 1,429,467 tourists.
In addition to Madrid and Alicante, Cádiz was the only province with more than a million national tourists last July; specifically, 1,034,520. However, there were also more than 800,000 tourists in Tarragona, Girona, Malaga and Barcelona, data that clearly reflects the drive of coastal areas when traveling, with Madrid as an exception due to its status as a large city and the particular characteristics of its offer, something that we could also apply, although to a lesser degree, to Barcelona. The lower figures also speak of a much lower interest in inland areas: the province with the fewest tourists was Palencia, with 108,680, and neither did they reach 150,000 in Soria, Ourense, Zamora and Álava.
The study on mobility through the positioning of telephones also shows an unequivocal recovery of national tourism after the break caused by the coronavirus pandemic, especially in 2020. The number of visitors in July grew by 5% compared to the same month of 2019, with which, a priori, the bump caused by the health crisis seems to have been overcome, even though in July 2021 there were 15,768 more tourists than this year.
The national tourism that the province receives tends to be habitually associated with Madrid, but the data corroborate that it is a reality and not a mere sensation. One out of every three visitors received by the Alicante demarcation in July came from Madrid: 377,364, well above the residents in the neighboring provinces of Valencia (219,200), Murcia (192,680) and Albacete (56,677). Toledo, Barcelona, Ciudad Real, Bizkaia, Valladolid and Zaragoza continue on the list, although with lower data. And by municipalities, Villa y Corte itself was the main issuer of tourists to the province: 191,700, also a long way from the capital of Murcia (96,212) and the city of Valencia (84,383).
Clear predilection for the coast and Alcoy as the main inland focus
As for the data at the local level, they confirm once again what is known: the preference for the beach and for consolidated destinations. Benidorm was once again the most visited town in the province in July, with 170,674 tourists, 8.45% more than in July 2019. The population of the Marina Baixa stands out compared to the city of Alicante (117,467), Denia (115,056) and Torrevieja (101,440), with increases in relation to 2019 of more than 7% in the case of the provincial capital and the Marina Alta, and a much smaller increase in the salt city.
However, the figure for the main inland tourist center, Alcoy, was infinitely lighter, with 6,952 visitors in July. This city, however, is consolidated as a focus of attraction, albeit in much more limited proportions, since its data for 2022 is also 10% higher than that of July 2019. In addition, it must be taken into account that the capital Alcoy usually receives more visitors at other times of the year: in April, when it celebrated its Moors and Christians, it had 12,302 tourists, and in October 2019 the figure rose to 12,674, the highest record in the last three years.
