BRITISH tourists poured a record-breaking €24 billion into Spain’s economy last year, new data has shown, cementing their status as the country’s biggest foreign spenders.
The figure dwarfed that of other nationalities, according to data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE), with German visitors spending around €16 billion and French tourists lagging behind on €11 billion.
British holidaymakers accounted for nearly 18% of all money spent by foreign tourists in Spain during the year, marking a 5% increase compared with 2024.
The figures come as Spain’s tourism industry continues to smash records. The country welcomed an unprecedented 97 million international visitors in 2025, underlining the growing importance of a sector that employed around three million people by December last year.
Earlier this year, tourism minister Jordi Hereu said Spain expected the upward trend to continue throughout 2026, potentially setting fresh records for both visitor numbers and tourist spending.
“If growth continues this year, we will reach 100 million foreign tourists, but we aren’t focused on that,” Hereu said.
He added: “We are growing in the way, and at the pace, that we believe is desirable for a model based on economic, social and environmental sustainability.”
As of April this year, international travellers had already spent €36 billion in Spain, up 7.5% year-on-year, according to the INE.
British tourists accounted for around €5.5 billion of that total, or roughly 15%, while arrivals of German and French visitors dipped slightly compared with the same period in 2025.
Yet Spain’s booming tourism industry is also placing growing pressure on residents in some of the country’s most visited destinations, as rents spiral and locals find themselves increasingly priced out of the housing market.
Earlier this month, anti-tourism activists in Mallorca announced a mass march through Palma on July 26, vowing an “historic turnout” that would bring the city to a standstill.
The announcement came during a small demonstration outside Palma Cathedral on June 7, where members of Menys Turisme Mes Vida – Less Tourism, More Life – gathered to set the date and make their intentions clear.
“We can’t cope with more tourists,” said David Comas, a spokesman for the group, adding that Mallorca had become a “theme park” where it was impossible for young people to live independently or secure decent housing.
The activists made their announcement shortly after five Mallorca estate agencies with international brands were defaced with graffiti reading ‘Guiris out!’ and ‘Guilty.’ In Spanish, the word ‘guiri’ is a derogatory term for Northern Europeans.
Meanwhile, sites across the Canary Islands were also daubed with anti-tourism graffiti, including one message in Tenerife that read ‘Kill a tourist,’ according to local news outlet Canarian Weekly.
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