canary islands tourism record march 2026

Canary Islands tourism smashes all records in March 2026

No sign of a slowdown: Canary Islands tourism continues to break records

There is no hint of a cooling-off, no inflection point on the graphs. Tourism in the Canary Islands has not yet reached its ceiling and continues to grow. The archipelago closed the first quarter of 2026 with historic highs in both foreign visitor numbers and tourist spending, driven by a March that shattered every record since the industry was born in the 1970s.

The Frontier Tourist Movements Statistics (Frontur) and the Tourist Spending Survey (Egatur), published yesterday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), show that the Canary Islands has closed a historic winter and remains the most visited region in the country. The first-quarter figures point to a positive overall trend, but the March analysis is nothing short of stellar. The Canary Islands is sweeping the board in every metric. The third month of the year is — so far — the best month on record for both foreign tourist arrivals and revenue.

Record-breaking March: 1.5 million visitors and €2.48 billion in spending

The archipelago welcomed 1.5 million international tourists in March, who spent a total of €2,478.87 million. March has always been the strongest month within the high tourism season in the islands, and 2026 brought no surprises. The third month of the year not only maintained that lead but also strengthened its growth compared to the same period last year. Visitor numbers rose by 0.4% compared to 2025, while spending increased by 2.3%.

To understand the sector’s take-off, a look back is revealing. Ten years ago, March was already setting the pace for the industry. In 2016, 1.2 million foreigners arrived in the archipelago during the last month of the first quarter. Today, that figure has grown by almost 30%, surpassing 1.5 million. The leap is even more striking in terms of the money visitors leave behind. In March 2016, total spending stood at €1,368.60 million. A decade later, it has exceeded €2,478 million — a growth of more than 80%. This progress aligns with the strategy pursued in recent years of steering the model towards higher-spending visitors, rather than an indiscriminate increase in volume.

Per-person spending and average stay both on the rise

Passenger numbers and total expenditure are not the only indicators of the sector’s health. The average spend per person also tells a positive story, reaching €1,587 in March — 1.89% higher than in March last year. The average daily spend held steady at €185, matching 2025 levels, while the average length of stay increased from 8.4 days in March last year to 8.56 days this year.

First-quarter overview: 4.48 million tourists and €6.94 billion in spending

Looking at the whole quarter, the figures confirm the destination’s strength. Between January and March, the Canary Islands received 4.48 million international tourists, up 2.76% on the same period last year. Total spending reached €6,941.45 million, an increase of 1.42%. A more detailed analysis of the quarter reveals some nuances. The average spend per person fell slightly, from €1,569 in 2025 to €1,549 in 2026, and the average length of trips also decreased. However, daily spending per visitor rose to €192, up from €183 last year, reinforcing the idea of a tourist who concentrates more spending during slightly shorter stays.

Canary Islands leads Spain in tourist numbers and spending

In comparison with other autonomous communities, the Canary Islands not only tops its own records but also leads the country. In March, it accounted for 22.94% of all international tourists arriving in Spain, ahead of Catalonia and Andalusia. That leadership extends to spending too, with 25.8% of the national total — far above other destinations. The same trend holds for the year to date. The Canary Islands tops the ranking for tourist spending in the first quarter, with 27.7% of the national total, followed by Catalonia and the Community of Madrid.

Global instability fails to dampen demand — for now

So far, the unstable international situation has not made itself felt in the figures. Neither the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, nor the pressure on air transport costs linked to kerosene, nor the economic uncertainty that usually accompanies such episodes have, as yet, stemmed the flow of tourists or the volume of spending in the Canary Islands. The sector continues to run on momentum, supported largely by bookings made months in advance. Whether that will change as the year progresses remains to be seen. The summer season will be the test of whether this climate of uncertainty eventually translates into travel decisions and visitor spending.

Spain’s first quarter also positive; UK and Germany lead source markets

Nationally, the first quarter also closed on a positive note. Spain welcomed more than 17.5 million international tourists, up 2.5% on the same period in 2025. Total spending reached €25,017 million, an increase of 6.3%. The Ministry of Industry and Tourism has highlighted that a trend is consolidating in which spending growth outpaces the increase in arrivals.

In terms of international flows, there are few changes in the map of traveller origin. The United Kingdom remains the great tourism engine, with nearly 3.2 million visitors in the first quarter as a whole and growth of 2.3%. Germany holds second place with 2.1 million tourists and a more moderate increase of 1.2%, while France breaks the trend by recording a decline of 5.9%, remaining just above two million travellers.

The same pattern emerges when analysing the money visitors leave at their destinations. The British market continues to contribute the most, accounting for 14.7% of total spending, followed by Germany with 12%, and the Nordic countries, which account for 7.7%. This distribution reinforces the weight of traditional markets in sustaining the sector.

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