Tourist Spending Growth Slows Across Spain, Madrid And Canary Islands Show Resilience Amid Challenges

Published on September 9, 2025

BBVA Research has put retired a caller study dissecting nan activity of visitors successful Spain, and nan numbers show a clear story: Q2 2025 is registering a cooling of nan antecedently basking tourist-spending trend. Yes, paper transactions from some residents and overseas visitors climbed yet nan gait is good disconnected earlier highs. Nationwide, tourer outlays expanded by 5.7% year-on-year successful nan three-month span, a respectable fig successful immoderate accustomed twelvemonth but a marked measurement down from nan 10.2% seen successful nan identical model of 2024. Analysts nexus nan deceleration principally to weaker activity by world guests, though nan resistance has not been azygous astatine nan location level. Yet nan outlook is not each caution: assemblage insiders foresee a assistance arsenic nan autumn almanac unfolds, buoyed successful peculiar by vacation travellers and taste programs successful Spain’s capitals.

A caller BBVA Research briefing reveals striking divergences successful tourer expenditure trends by Spanish region. While immoderate territories enjoyed renewed momentum, others remained nether pressure. Madrid, nan Canary Islands, Murcia, nan Valencian Community, and Cantabria stood out, propelled by a robust cross-section of home and overseas arrivals. The islands and nan superior grasped nan largest shares of caller expenditure, absorbing a noteworthy portion of nan crisp declines elsewhere. Consumption successful these 5 territories outpaced nan wide nationalist performance, efficaciously countering weaker aggregates.

Conversely, nan Balearic Islands—generally viewed arsenic a bellwether for lucrative tourer consumption—faced a chopped reversal, showing a marked contraction successful outbound family walk successful nan 2nd 4th of 2025. The persistent and uneven characteristic of arrivals raised caller uncertainty complete nan islands’ wider economical stability. Other Spanish provinces likewise battled to reproduce earlier maturation trajectories, further widening nan spread betwixt nan contagion zones and nan amended insulated tourer circuits.

Focus connected Key Provinces

Turning to individual provinces, classical formation destinations specified arsenic Las Palmas, Alicante, Murcia, and Cantabria delivered robust tourer expenditure, thereby bolstering nan nationwide rebound. Within nan coastal corridors, these locales attracted layered demand, welcoming some longtime world fans and wavering home holiday-makers alike, and emerged arsenic iconic capacity leaders. Meanwhile, nan superior and contiguous provinces of Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Bizkaia besides hit nan astir optimistic forecasts, signaling higher visitant walk and signalling renewed municipality recreation vitality.

Conversely, municipality destinations—including Melilla, Gipuzkoa, Zaragoza, and Ceuta, arsenic good arsenic nan Balearics, Ourense, and Huesca—fell short of expectations. Even nan larger metropolitan areas, on pinch nan awesome land zones, recorded lowermixinvisitor expenditure, revealing that nan revitalisation process successful these settings remains down nan nationwide feel. The slower bounce-back tin beryllium tied to shifting visitant preferences, supply-side adjustments, and nan wider location guidelines of economical constraints that linger.

Declining Foreign Tourism and Its Impact

Spain has agelong relied connected nan inflows of overseas visitors arsenic a centrifugal of maturation for nan nationalist economy. The play erstwhile this usually becomes evident—between May and August—did so spot overseas spending adhd momentum; visitors flocked to Madrid, nan Canary Islands, and coastal hubs, pushing receipts to caller peaks. Yet nan wide gait of maturation for inbound arrivals slowed dramatically to 8.1% successful nan 2nd 4th of 2025, compared to nan blistering 16.8% recorded during nan aforesaid 4th nan erstwhile year. Crystalline figures let america to observe nan shifts pinch awesome precision, but nan important study remains nan narrowing abstraction for acceleration successful what, until recently, appeared to beryllium an unassailable upward trend.

While tourer expenditure eased a small successful Q2, nan 2nd half of 2025 has room to surprise, chiefly erstwhile autumn sets in. Analysts still foresee a assistance erstwhile nan mild months of October and November arrive. The committedness of a quieter, little congested play mixed pinch festivals, holidays and charismatic value points is expected to coax much overseas and section visitors. Spain’s tourism planners are presently fine-tuning actionable monitoring metrics truthful that spending and arrivals tin beryllium channelled to privilege areas and weaker-performing markets earlier nan months get nether way.

To buttress immoderate upswing, Madrid is continuing to embed sustainable recreation themes and geographical balancing successful nan betterment playbook. While Madrid city, nan Canary Island archipelago and nan Valencian shores are already outperforming successful gross year-on-year, nan remaining autonomous communities will beryllium advised to pivot their promotions toward much decentralised and low-impact offerings if they are to unafraid a stronger autumn decorativeness and trim overtourism successful highest centres.

Conclusion