Spain received a record 58.1 million international tourists from January to July 2026, marking a 4.6% increase compared with the same period in 2025, according to figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) published by Travel Tomorrow.
Tourism Revenue and Visitor Spending Breakdown
Tourism revenues in Spain reached €82.05 billion during the first seven months of 2026, representing a 7.8% rise year-on-year. In July alone, international tourists spent €18.22 billion, an increase of 10.9%. Accommodation captured the largest share of visitor expenditure in July at 19.8%, followed closely by package holidays at 19.3% and international transport at 19.2% of total spending.
Visitor Patterns and Travel Types
The most frequent length of
stay in Spain was between four and seven nights, comprising 5.7 million visitors in July 2026—a year-on-year increase of 8.7%. Independent travelers outweighed package tourists, with approximately 8.5 million international tourists traveling without a package holiday in July compared to 3.1 million who used packaged tours.
Top Source Markets for Spain Tourism
The United Kingdom remained Spain’s largest source market with 11.5 million visitors from January to July 2026, a 4.6% increase from 2025. France contributed over 7.2 million tourists, up 1.2%, while Germany’s arrivals declined slightly by 0.5% to around 6.9 million. Italy showed the strongest growth among major markets, with 3.5 million visitors, up
10.3%. Visitors from countries classified as ‘other source countries’ rose 16.9% to 717,000, with expenditure increasing 24.5%.
Tourism by Autonomous Community
Catalonia was the leading autonomous community for international tourism, receiving nearly 11.94 million visitors between January and July 2026, a 2.9% rise. The Balearic Islands hosted 9.16 million visitors (+1.8%), and the Canary Islands saw 9.02 million arrivals, down 0.6%. Andalusia also had 9.02 million visitors but with a stronger increase of 8.2%. Madrid and Valencian Community recorded the highest growth rates among Spain’s major destinations with 9.6% and 8.9% respectively during the same period.
July 2026 Tourist Figures
July 2026 data show 11.5 million international tourists
visited Spain, a 4.6% increase from July 2025. British visitors totaled about 2.2 million in that month, growing 5.6%, and their spending reached €3.04 billion, a 4.8% rise. The Valencian Community welcomed 1.63 million tourists (+9.5%) in July, while Madrid received around 800,000 visitors, up 11% year-on-year.
Spain’s tourism growth follows the record 96.8 million international arrivals in 2025, positioning the country near the milestone of 100 million visitors in 2026 if current growth continues.
A Deloitte and Google study projects Spain could reach 110 million international tourists annually by 2040, potentially surpassing France, which hosted 102 million visitors in
2025 and is currently the world’s most visited country.
Despite receiving fewer tourists than France, Spain generated significantly higher tourism revenue in 2025, with €134.7 billion compared to France’s €77.5 billion.
Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu advocates a “calm growth” model emphasizing increasing tourism’s economic value, diversifying visitor distribution across regions and seasons, and promoting inland, cultural, gastronomic, and nature tourism to manage growth impacts.
