RationaleInternational tourism in Spain was highly buoyant in 2023, with record levels of tourist arrivals, hotel overnight stays and average spending per tourist. This article describes the recent characteristics of these tourist flows and the factors that could help explain them.Takeaways•The increase in international tourist arrivals in 2023 and early 2024 relative to the 2016-2019 period was more marked during the autumn and winter months than during the summer months.•In 2023 foreigner hotel overnight stays increased more sharply, compared with the pre-pandemic period, in the northern regions of Spain than in the islands and the south of mainland Spain.•Foreign tourist source countries also appear to have diversified in 2023, with a notable increase in the number of tourists from the Americas and a slight decrease in the number of tourists from countries such as Germany and the United Kingdom.•In 2023 as a whole international tourists appear to have chosen higher category hotels to a greater extent, thus boosting average spending per tourist.