canary islands lead spain tourism record early 2026

Canary Islands Lead Spain’s Record Tourism Start to 2026

Canary Islands top Spanish tourism charts in record start to 2026

Spain welcomed 10.7 million international tourists in the first two months of the year, a 2% increase on the same period in 2025 and a new record for this timeframe, according to data published this Wednesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE). The Canary Islands were the most visited region between January and February, attracting 2.9 million tourists—a 4.1% rise compared to 2025. They were followed by Catalonia (2.2 million, down 0.9%) and Andalusia (1.5 million, up 2.4%).

Record spending by international visitors

Nationally, tourist spending also reached a record high for the period, totalling €15.411 billion, a 6.9% increase. In February alone, total spending by international visitors amounted to €7.6 billion, up 4.6% year-on-year. The number of international tourists arriving in Spain in February exceeded 5.6 million, a 2.8% growth and another historic high for the INE’s records.

These figures confirm a start to the year in which, once again, the trend of spending growth at the destination outpacing the increase in arrival numbers is being maintained,” highlighted the Ministry of Industry and Tourism.

Key source markets and their spending habits

In February, the United Kingdom was the main source country for tourists to Spain, with over one million visitors—a yearly increase of 1.8%. France was second, with 687,434 visitors (a 4.8% decrease), followed by Germany with 629,604 (a slight 1.4% rise). The Asian market showed remarkable growth, surging 41.9% year-on-year with over 330,000 visitors.

In terms of expenditure, the leading source countries in February were the UK (15% of total spend), Germany (11.9%), and the Nordic countries (7.8%). Spending by UK residents fell by 3.8% to €1.165 billion, while spending from Nordic countries also decreased by 6.4% to €594 million. In contrast, spending from German tourists grew by 8% to €904 million. The ‘rest of the world’ category again stood out, with its expenditure growing by 11.6%.

Tourist profile: spend, stay, and purpose

During February, each tourist spent an average of €1,366, a 1.7% increase on the previous February. The average daily spend grew by 3.4% year-on-year, reaching €190. The most common length of stay was four to seven nights, with almost 2.7 million tourists choosing this duration—a 4.1% annual increase.

Regarding the purpose of travel, tourists visiting Spain for leisure generated 79.8% of total spending, with an outlay 2.1% higher than in February 2025. Some 59.1% of total February spending was by tourists staying in hotel accommodation, with an annual increase of 8.1%. Spending in non-market accommodation (like holiday rentals) fell by 4.8%. Spending by tourists not on package tours rose 4.5%, while spending by those on package tours increased by 4.8%.

Regional breakdown: Canaries dominate visitor numbers

The Canary Islands were the leading destination for tourists in February, capturing 26.8% of the total. They were followed by Catalonia (21.3%) and Andalusia (14.1%). Nearly 1.5 million tourists arrived in the Islands in February alone, a 3.3% increase from February 2025. Catalonia was the second destination, with 4.1% more visitors (1,187,379), while tourist numbers in Andalusia rose slightly by 1.1% to 784,734. In relative terms, the Valencian Community registered the highest year-on-year growth, with international tourist numbers up 10.4% to 740,365.

The autonomous communities with the highest tourist spending in February were, first, the Canary Islands with 29.2% of the total (€2.221 billion, a 1.6% year-on-year decrease). Second was Catalonia with 18% of the total (€1.372 billion, an 18.7% increase). The Community of Madrid came third with 15.3% of the total (€1.166 billion, up 1.9%).

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