Figures for the first quarter of 2010 show that a total of 8.81 million foreign visitors arrived in Spain during the period, up 0.3% on the same period last year, with Andalucia registering a 7.4% increase.
Andalucia (1,231,956) was in third place regarding visitor numbers behind the Canary Islands (2,408,302) and Cataluña (2,107,248.
In March 2010, all the main tourist destinations registered an increase in visitor numbers with the exception of Madrid, which fell by 9.4%.
The United Kingdom remains the largest market although in March, the numbers fell by 7.4%. Germany, the second largest market, was up by 3.1% in March after seventeen consecutive months of decline.
Overall, for the quarter, the number of visitors from France was up by 3.3%, Italy up by 11.4% and Scandinavia up 1.5%. The number of visitors from Ireland fell by 25.9% and those from Portugal fell by 23.1%.
As far as accommodation was concerned, 5.6 million chose hotels (down 0.3%) and 3.15 million chose rented accommodation, camping or second home (up 2.6%).