Tourism growth in Spain thanks to Madrid Airport

Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport is one of the main gateways for international tourism in Spain and one of the drivers of its tourism growth: it connects Madrid with the rest of Europe, with the Americas and with other continents, it is the main air link between Europe and Latin America, it works as a connecting airport for many travellers and, thanks to high-speed rail, it sends visitors on to other Spanish cities. For each year's figures, the official sources are Aena (passenger traffic) and the INE, Spain's national statistics institute (international tourist arrivals).

A major connecting airport

Barajas is the operating base of Iberia and other airlines, which makes it a connecting point between long-haul flights and European and domestic flights. Many travellers pass through Madrid on their way to another destination, and some of them take the opportunity to stay a few days or at least to go out and see the city during their layover.

The bridge with Latin America

Because of language, history and the range of flights, Madrid is Europe's natural gateway for Latin American travellers. That connection feeds tourism as well as business travel and visits to family.

The capital as a base for seeing Spain

From Madrid you can reach much of the country by high-speed train, and cities such as Toledo, Segovia or Ávila are close enough to visit in a day. Combining a flight with the AVE (Spain's high-speed train) is very common, as we explain in how to combine the AVE and a taxi from Atocha to the airport.

An airport with so much traffic has many advantages (more destinations, more frequencies, more departure times), but it also calls for some planning:

• Check your terminal. Barajas has four terminals and T4 is separate from T1, T2 and T3.
• Leave a margin on the way out. The general advice is to arrive about 2 hours before European flights and 3 before international ones.
• Have your transfer sorted for when you land. After a long flight, finding your transport without searching is a relief; with our airport pickup we wait for you with your flight number.
• Make the most of long layovers. If you have several hours between flights, you can go out and see Madrid or even a nearby city, as we describe in Segovia, Toledo or Ávila on an airport layover.

Passenger and tourist figures change every year, which is why we prefer to point you to the sources that publish them regularly:

• Aena publishes traffic statistics for each airport: passengers, flights and cargo.
• The INE publishes the Frontur survey, with international tourist arrivals in Spain, and Egatur, with their spending.

To get an idea of day-to-day life at the terminal, you can also read how many passengers pass through Barajas each day, and if you are interested in how it became what it is, our short history of Madrid-Barajas Airport.

For many visitors, the journey from the airport to their accommodation is their first impression of Madrid. An airport transfer by official taxi at a fixed price (€33 between Barajas and the area inside the M-30) avoids surprises and gets the trip off to a good start.