ACRONYMS National Statistics Institute
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4 March 2026

Total Expenditure Survey

January 2026. Provisional data

Main results

  • The total expenditure of international tourists who visited Spain in January increased by 9.3% and reached 7,805 million euros.
  • The average daily expenditure increased by 7.1% to 177 euros.

The total expenditure of international tourists visiting Spain in January reached 7,805 million euros, an increase of 9.3% when compared to the same month in 2025.

The average expenditure per tourist stood at 1,522 euros, with an annual increase of 8.0%. On the other hand, the average daily expenditure increased by 7.1%, up to 177 euros.

Annual variation rate of total international tourist expenditure

Annual variation. Percentage 

Countries of origin

The main sending countries, in terms of level of expenditure in January were United Kingdom (with 13.9% of the total), Germany (10.6%) and Nordic countries (7.0%).

Expenditure by tourists resident in the United Kingdom decreased by 1.7% in the annual rate, as did those from Scandinavian countries, by 7.5%. On the other hand, those from Germany 4.4%.  

International tourist expenditure by country of residence. January 2026

Expenditure items

Expenditure on activities was the most important item in January, with 23.4% of the total expenditure and an increase of 7.9% compared to the same month in 2025.

The following items were expenditure on international transport (not included in package tours) and accommodation, which accounted for 22.7% and 16.2% of the total, respectively. The former went up by 10.2% and the latter by 15.7%.

International tourist expenditure by expenditure categories. January 2026

Type of accommodation, method of organization and reason for the trip

53.9% of the total expenditure in January was made by tourists staying at hotels, with an annual rise of 10.4%. On the other hand, expenditure on non-market accommodation decreased by 10.1%.

Expenditure by tourists not travelling with a package tour increased by 9.8% in the annual rate. For those who contracted a package tour, it increased by 7.3%.

In terms of the reasons for travel, tourists visiting Spain for leisure generated 76.0% of the total expenditure, with a 2.4% higher outlay than in January 2025.

International tourist expenditure by main type of accommodation, method of organization and main purpose of the trip. January 2026

(*) Two main groups of accommodation are distinguished according to whether or not there has been a monetary transaction: market (paid accommodation: hotels, rental accommodation, camping, rural house and other market accommodation) or non-market (owned housing, family and friends housing and other non-market accommodation).

Autonomous communities of main destination

The Autonomous Communities of main destination with the greatest proportion of total tourist expenditure in January were Canarias (with 28.7% of the total), Comunidad de Madrid (20.6%) and Cataluña (16.3%). The annual rate of tourist expenditure increased by 3.6% in Cataluña, by 15.6% in Comunidad de Madrid and by 14.8% in Cataluña.

International tourist expenditure according to the autonomous community of the main destination. January 2026

Data revisions and updates

The data published today are provisional. All the results of this operation are available in INEBase.

Methodological note

The main objective of the Tourist Expenditure Survey (EGATUR) is to obtain monthly information on the tourist expenditure made by non-residents in Spain in their trips to our country. In preparing it, the international definitions and recommendations of the UN Tourism and EUROSTAT are followed.

Type of operation:
continuous monthly statistics.
Population scope:
this refers to non-residents in Spain who enter our country, whether or not they have stayed overnight, as well as those who pass through our country in transit.
Geographical scope:
the entire national territory. The sample is collected at the main access points for non-resident travelers (road, airport, port and rail).
Reference period of the results:
the month.
Sample size:
The theoretical annual sample size of EGATUR exceeds 127,000 surveys, which are distributed throughout the year according to the seasonality of the flow of passengers and to the sample design, which is defined for each access road independently, setting a fraction of the sub-sampling from the FRONTUR sample.
Type of sampling:
Single stage, where the estimates of the FRONTUR survey are used as the target population to which the EGATUR data are elevated.
Collection method:
the information is collected by direct interviews when the traveller leaves Spain, using a multilingual electronic questionnaire. It is important to note that the survey is administered to the visitors when they are leaving the country, so the information collected could refer to a longer period than the reference month.

For more information you can access the methodology and the standardized methodological report.

INE statistics are produced in accordance with the Code of Good Practice for European Statistics. More information in Quality at INE and the Code of Best Practices.

For further information see Inicio INEbase Official INE account on @es_ine
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