The Costa Blanca’s tourism sector continued its strong start to the year in May, with hotel and tourist apartment occupancy reaching its highest level of 2026 so far.
According to figures released by the Provincial Association of Hotels and Tourist Apartments of Alicante (APHA), average occupancy across the province reached 83.5% during May. That represents an increase of 0.6 percentage points compared with May 2025 and sits 1.2 points above April’s figure.
Playa de San Juan leads the way
Playa de San Juan recorded the highest occupancy rate in the province, reaching an impressive 95.7%.
The city of Alicante followed closely behind with 91.1%, while neighbouring Sant Joan d’Alacant achieved 83%.
Elsewhere across the Costa Blanca, Guardamar del Segura reached 78%, Moraira recorded 77.1%, Dénia achieved 75.5%, while both Jávea and Santa Pola registered 73%.
San Vicente del Raspeig reached 67.2%, ahead of El Campello on 66.3%, Orihuela on 63.6% and Algorfa on 56.1%.
International visitors drive demand
Foreign tourists continued to dominate the market during May.
International visitors accounted for 77.5% of all guests staying in hotels and tourist apartments across the province, compared with 22.5% from Spain.
The United Kingdom remained by far the largest overseas market, representing 22.2% of all international visitors.
Ireland followed with 7.4%, while Sweden and Germany each accounted for 5.5%.
France contributed 5.4% of visitors, followed by Poland on 4.8%, the Netherlands on 4.7%, Norway on 4.6%, Italy on 4.4% and the United States on 3.6%.
Madrid remains key domestic market
Among Spanish travellers, the Community of Madrid continued to provide the largest number of visitors.
Madrid residents accounted for 27.1% of all domestic tourists staying in Alicante Province during May.
The Valencian Community itself was the second-largest national market, contributing 25.4%.
Catalonia followed with 9.9%, ahead of Andalusia on 8%, Castilla-La Mancha on 5.7%, Castilla y León on 5%, Murcia on 3.2%, the Basque Country on 2.7%, Galicia on 2.6% and the Balearic Islands on 2.5%.
Positive outlook for summer
The positive trend is expected to continue into June.
According to APHA’s predictive model, developed in collaboration with the Alicante City Tourism Chair, average occupancy could reach 86.8% this month.
If achieved, that would exceed the figures recorded during June last year and provide another boost as the Costa Blanca heads into the busiest part of the summer season.
