In 2024, the region welcomed more than 16.5 million visitors, of which around 8.8 million came from abroad, generating an expenditure of €20 billion. In the first quarter of 2025, the number of foreign visitors once again surpassed two million, marking an 8.6% increase compared to 2024, with total spending reaching €3.866 billion, up 13.8%.
These figures reflect the genuine interest people have in spending their holidays in the Madrid Region. But the question arises: what makes this region so attractive to foreigners?
Quality of life
Quality of life in Madrid is the result of an exceptional combination of cultural richness, gastronomic excellence, vast green spaces, a leading healthcare and education system, efficient transportation, and a warm and diverse community. Over the years, OECD studies have highlighted Spain’s leadership in balancing work and personal life. Likewise, surveys conducted among expatriates from different backgrounds have emphasized the region’s high quality of life, noting significant improvements in areas such as social interaction, physical health, climate, and environment. In its latest edition, Internations ranked Madrid as the sixth-best city in the world for expatriates and the top among European capitals.
Cultural powerhouse
The Madrid Region offers a vibrant and diverse cultural life. The region boasts world-renowned museums, historic theaters, and a dynamic art scene. Its calendar is packed with festivals, concerts, and exhibitions, reflecting a deep appreciation for the arts as well as a lively cultural and nightlife scene.
Key cultural and tourism figures:
• Accommodation: 1,185 hotel establishments (December 2024) with a total of 122,914 beds.
• Art and culture: 193 museums and art galleries.
• Heritage: 474 assets declared of Cultural Interest.
• Gastronomy: more than 32,000 food and beverage establishments.
• Fine dining: 36 Michelin stars distributed among 28 restaurants across the region.
Technology aligned with tourism
The Visit Madrid platform brings together several digital initiatives with complementary objectives within the region’s tourism sector. These include the official website, the mobile app, and the AI-based virtual assistant.
The portal VisitMadrid.es, launched in January 2025, is the new official tourism promotion website of the Madrid Region. It targets both domestic and international visitors and offers:
• An updated agenda with the region’s most relevant tourism events.
• The “Create Your Itinerary” feature, allowing users to design personalized experiences.
• Tools for professionals, such as calls, promotions, tourism reports based on data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), and an observatory with key sector statistics.
• Versions in Spanish, English, and French, with plans to expand to eleven languages (German, Italian, Portuguese, Simplified Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Russian, and Arabic).
This way, users can plan personalized itineraries and access useful information before their trip, exploring not only cultural and gastronomic offerings but also rural tourism, sports, and outdoor activities.
The Madrid Region is a cultural powerhouse supported by a solid technological infrastructure, contributing to the efficiency and modernization of the tourism sector. Currently, nearly one and a half million people born outside Spain reside in the region, representing approximately 21% of its population. Coming from around 190 different nationalities, they make Madrid a diverse and multicultural community, chosen both as a place to live and as a tourist destination. Thanks to this, Madrid ranks, after Paris, as the most visited capital city.