This summer, international tourists visiting Spain will spend 10% more than during the summer of 2025. According to statistical projections produced by the Spanish Tourism Institute (Turespaña), which reports to the Ministry of Industry and Tourism, around 43 million foreign tourists will visit us between June, July, August and September - 6% more than last year - and these tourists will spend around €64 billion.

The Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, who outlined these forecasts at a press conference at the Ministry's headquarters, highlighted the extraordinary resilience of the Spanish tourism industry amidst an uncertain global geo-economic context marked by the consequences of trade instability resulting from the conflict in the Middle East. Despite the ongoing international crisis, the process of comprehensively transforming the tourism model has not been affected, the minister pointed out.

For Hereu, the fact that Spain - a leading example of sustainable tourism - is maintaining and even increasing its appeal to international tourists is excellent news, as it strengthens one of the main pillars of the country's growth and prosperity in recent years. Tourism, the minister said, will continue to grow, but it will do so in the way the Government wants it to: by deepening the shift in the tourism model and championing the "triple sustainability" approach.

Spain is taking further steps to transform its tourism model

This summer, once again, spending by international tourists is almost certain to grow more than the number of visitors. This is a trend that has become firmly established in recent years and which, in the minister's view, confirms that committing to public policies that contribute to a shift in the tourism model is a strategic success.

In this regard, the minister highlighted the roll-out of the 'Tourism Spain 2030' Strategy as a pioneering milestone in the task of governing tourism. This roadmap for the sustainable transformation of the sector - complemented by the €3.4 billion Tourism Sector Modernisation and Competitiveness Plan (which completed its regional implementation in June) - has helped improve the quality and competitiveness of our tourism industry.

The Minister for Industry and Tourism emphasised that the forecasts for this summer reaffirm that decentralisation policies - the more equitable and even distribution of tourists across the various regional governments - have a real impact on tourist-flow dynamics. Specifically, the growth rate of spending by international tourists during the summer months will be higher in regions that are traditionally less visited than in the primary destination regions. According to projections by Turespaña's experts, in June, July, August and September, the non-major regions will see year-on-year growth rates in spending of between 8% and 10%, whilst growth rates in the six main regions (Andalusia, the Community of Madrid, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands) will range between 5% and 6%.

Resilience of the tourism sector against a backdrop of global uncertainty

All the indicators reflecting the state of the tourism sector have shown a positive trend in the first five months of the year. Up to May - the last month for which official figures are available - international tourist spending rose by 7.8% to €50.2 billion, and visitor numbers increased by 5%, surpassing the 36 million mark. Furthermore, in terms of employment, there has been a paradigm shift in Spain: the number of people registered as working in the tourism sector is at an all-time high, with more than 3 million people employed in the sector, and the proportion of temporary workers in the tourism sector in the first quarter of the year is lower than that of the economy as a whole. Despite these figures, and the positive forecasts for the summer, the minister stated in his speech that the Government is approaching the rest of the year with a sense of calm vigilance and reasonable optimism.

Jordi Hereu pointed out that the tourism sector is demonstrating its inherent strength and its ability to overcome adversity without losing sight of its transformative goals, as seen during other events that have shaped the international agenda in recent years, such as the war in Ukraine, the pandemic and the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Spain, the Minister for Tourism emphasised during his appearance, has a more favourable starting position than other competing European tourist destinations thanks to lower exposure to price volatility and the strategic autonomy provided by its refining capacity.

In any case, Jordi Hereu affirmed that Spain will continue to advocate for preserving connectivity between source markets and tourist destinations, despite the geopolitical crisis. "Our country's competitiveness as a destination cannot and must not depend on a war", said the minister, noting that since the outbreak of hostilities, the Government has remained committed to the international order and a diplomatic, peaceful resolution to the conflict in the Middle East.

Non official translation