Spain has set another tourism record, with 58.1 million international visitors arriving during the first seven months of 2026 and spending more than €82 billion, according to the latest official figures.
The number of foreign tourists visiting the country between January and July rose 4.6% compared with the same period last year, while their combined expenditure increased at an even faster rate, climbing 7.8% to a record €82.05 billion.
July itself produced new highs, with 11.5 million international tourists travelling to Spain during the month, also up 4.6% year-on-year.
However, spending again grew considerably faster than visitor numbers. Foreign tourists spent €18.22 billion during July alone, an increase of 10.9% compared with July 2025 and the highest figure recorded for the month.
The figures, contained in the latest Frontur tourist arrivals and Egatur expenditure surveys published by Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), underline the continuing strength of the country’s tourism industry during another exceptionally busy summer.
Average spending per visitor in July reached €1,579, up 5.9%, while tourists spent an average of €218 per person per day, 3.7% more than a year earlier. The average stay was 7.2 days. ALSO READ: Spain predicted to overtake France as world’s most visited country by 2040.
British tourists remain Spain’s biggest market
The UK continued to be Spain’s largest source of international tourists, accounting for 11.5 million visitors between January and July, a rise of 4.6%.
France was the second-largest market, with 7.2 million tourists, up 1.2%, followed by Germany with 6.9 million, although German arrivals dropped by 0.5%.
Italy recorded particularly strong growth, with 3.5 million visitors during the seven-month period, 10.3% more than in 2025. ALSO READ: Italy and Spain extend tit-for-tat border controls for another 15 days over Ceuta migrant crisis.
British tourists also remained the biggest spenders. They accounted for 16.9% of all international tourism expenditure in Spain between January and July, ahead of visitors from Germany, with 11.3%, and France, with 7.8%.
During July alone, around 2.2 million British tourists visited Spain, an increase of 5.6%, spending approximately €3.04 billion. British expenditure rose 4.8% compared with July last year.
German visitors increased their spending by 11.5% during July, while expenditure by French tourists climbed 12.6%.
Catalonia attracts the most visitors
Catalonia remained Spain’s most visited region during the first seven months of the year, receiving 11.94 million international tourists, 2.9% more than during the same period in 2025. ALSO READ: Barcelona wants to revoke all city’s 10,101 tourist apartment licences by Nov 2028.
The Balearic Islands followed with 9.16 million visitors, an increase of 1.8%, while the Canary Islands received 9.02 million, down 0.6%. ALSO READ: ‘Mallorca at breaking point’: record anti-tourism protest ends in clashes with police.
Andalusia also attracted around 9.02 million international visitors, but recorded much stronger growth, with arrivals rising 8.2%.
Among Spain’s other major destinations, Madrid and the Valencia region recorded particularly large increases, with visitor numbers up 9.6% and 8.9% respectively during the first seven months of the year.
The trend continued in July, when the Valencia region welcomed 1.63 million foreign tourists, 9.5% more than a year earlier, while Madrid received around 800,000, an increase of 11%.
The picture changes slightly when measured by the amount tourists spend.
During July, the Balearic Islands attracted the largest share of international tourism expenditure, with €4.15 billion, or 22.8% of the national total. Catalonia followed with €3.71 billion, representing 20.4%, while Andalusia received €2.69 billion, or 14.8%.
Andalusia recorded the strongest increase among those major destinations, with foreign visitor spending jumping 23.4% year-on-year. Spending increased by 13% in Catalonia, 11.6% in the Valencian Community and 8.3% in the Balearic Islands.
Across the entire January-to-July period, however, Catalonia generated the largest share of Spain’s international tourist expenditure, accounting for 18.9% of the total, followed by the Canary Islands with 17.1% and Andalusia with 15.2%.
Accommodation takes biggest share of tourist spending
Accommodation remained the single largest expense for international visitors in July, accounting for €3.61 billion, or 19.8% of all spending, an increase of 6.7% compared with the previous year.
Package holidays represented another 19.3% of expenditure, while international transport accounted for 19.2%. Spending on packages increased particularly strongly, rising 19%, while expenditure on international transport was up 12.8%.
Tourists staying in hotels and other market accommodation generated the majority of expenditure, accounting for 62.5% of the total.
Visitors travelling on package holidays spent 17.4% more than a year earlier, while expenditure among those arranging their trips independently increased by 8.6%. Nevertheless, independent travel remained far more common, with almost 8.5 million tourists arriving without a package during July compared with around 3.1 million who used one.
The most common trip length was four to seven nights, accounting for 5.7 million visitors during the month.
Unsurprisingly, holidays and leisure remained overwhelmingly the main reason for travelling to Spain. Visitors in this category spent €16.25 billion during July, equivalent to 89.2% of all international tourist expenditure.
Business tourism represented a much smaller share, but recorded considerably faster growth. Spending by international business travellers surged 37.7% to €782 million.
The latest figures therefore continue a pattern seen throughout 2026: while Spain is attracting record numbers of foreign visitors, tourism revenues are increasing considerably faster than arrivals, as visitors spend more both overall and on a per-person basis. ALSO READ: Spain sets new tourism record with 96.8 million foreign visitors in 2025, spending €134.7 billion.
ALSO READ: Spain to impose tougher rental regulations, including caps on room rents and limits on seasonal lets.
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Encuesta de Gasto Turístico #EGATUR. Julio 2026 @es_INE
— INE España (@es_INE) September 1, 2026
El gasto total de los turistas internacionales que visitaron España en julio aumentó un 10,9% y alcanzó los 18.218 millones de euros
Nota de prensa
👇https://t.co/PhI0efs9rD
Resultados➡️ https://t.co/QZuoaoSuWa#INE… pic.twitter.com/B3EH8cClak
El turismo vuelve a demostrar su fortaleza en el mes de julio: crece el gasto y lo hace por encima del número de visitantes.
— Jordi Hereu (@jordihereub) September 1, 2026
Es una señal de que avanzamos hacia un modelo turístico de mayor valor añadido y con capacidad para generar más prosperidad en nuestros territorios. https://t.co/xenHALiFrR
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