SPAIN welcomed a record 17.5 million tourists between January and March, a 2.6% rise compared with 2025.
Spending by visitors topped €25 billion over the same period, marking an increase of 6.4% from the previous year.
Foreign tourist arrivals to Spain reached a record 96.7 million in 2025, and analysts say the total could top 100 million in 2026 should the upward trend continue.
The uptick in tourism has been partly driven by the conflict in the Middle East, with holidaymakers opting for trips to Spain over Turkey and Egypt.
Israeli and US forces launched strikes on Iran on 28 February, coinciding with a surge in visitor numbers in Spain in March.
According to figures released by the National Statistics Institute (INE), a record-breaking 6.8 million tourists visited Spain in March, an increase of 3.8%.
British tourists led the March surge, with nearly 1.3 million tourists visiting Spain, up 2.1% year-on-year.
Germany followed with 924,088 visitors, a 2.9% increase, and France with 798,671, up 4.4%.
The Canary Islands was the top tourist destination for March, with 22.9% of Spain’s total arrivals opting for the islands.
Catalunya and Andalucia followed, accounting for 19.1% and 17.1% of arrivals, respectively.
With visitor numbers and spending rising in Spain, analysts predict that 2026 could be another record-breaking year for the country’s tourism industry.
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