Spain welcomed 5.6 million international tourists in February 2026, an increase of 2.8% compared to the same month in 2025.
New figures from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) also show that visitors spent €7.6 billion during the month. That is 4.6% higher than February last year.
Strong start to 2026 for tourism
The first two months of 2026 show steady growth. Between January and February:
- Total tourist spending reached €15.4 billion, up 6.9%
- Visitor numbers reached nearly 10.7 million, up 2%
Spending continues to grow faster than visitor numbers. This trend supports Spain’s shift towards higher value tourism, focusing on quality rather than quantity, and encouraging travel throughout the year rather than just peak seasons.
UK remains top market
The UK remained the biggest source of tourists in February, with more than 1 million visitors, up 1.8%.
Other key markets included:
- France with 687,434 visitors, down 4.8%
- Germany with 629,604 visitors, up 1.4%
One of the biggest increases came from Asia, with visitor numbers rising 41.9% to more than 330,000 tourists.
Tourist spending trends
The UK accounted for 15% of total spending in February, followed by:
- Germany with 11.9%
- Nordic countries with 7.8%
However, spending from UK visitors fell 3.8% to €1.165 billion. Spending from Nordic countries also dropped 6.4% to €594 million.
German visitors spent more, with an increase of 8%, reaching €904 million.
Spending from visitors classified as rest of the world rose 11.6%, continuing a strong trend.
Average spending increases
In February, each tourist spent an average of €1,366, up 1.7% compared to last year.
Average daily spending also increased 3.4%, reaching €190 per day.
Most visitors stayed between 4 and 7 nights, with nearly 2.7 million tourists choosing this length of stay. That is an increase of 4.1%.
Canary Islands lead February destinations
The Canarias were the most popular destination in February, attracting 26.8% of all visitors.
They were followed by:
- Cataluña with 21.3%
- Andalucía with 14.1%
The Canarias welcomed 1,492,242 tourists, up 3.3%. Cataluña saw 1,187,379 visitors, up 4.1%. Andalucía recorded 784,734 tourists, a small increase of 1.1%.
The biggest growth came from the Comunidad Valenciana, which saw visitor numbers rise 10.4% to 740,365 international tourists.
Tourist spending by region
The Canarias also led in total tourist spending, accounting for 29.2% of the total, with €2.221 billion, although this was down 1.6%.
Cataluña ranked second with €1.372 billion, up 18.7%.
Comunidad de Madrid came third with €1.166 billion, representing 15.3% of total spending, up 1.9%.
