ACRONYMS National Statistics Institute
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2 July 2026

Total Expenditure Survey

May 2026. Provisional data

Main results

  • The total expenditure of international tourists who visited Spain in May increased by 10.9% and reached 13,553 million euros.
  • The average daily expenditure increased by 1.7% to 214 euros.

The total expenditure of international tourists visiting Spain in May reached 13,553 million euros, an increase of 10.9% compared to the same month in 2025.

The average expenditure per tourist stood at 1,321 euros, with an annual increase of 1.2%. On the other hand, the average daily expenditure increased by 1.7%, up to 214 euros.

Annual variation rate of total international tourist expenditure

Annual variation. Percentage

During the first five months of 2026, the total expenditure of international tourists increased by 7.8% and reached 50.257 billion euros.

Countries of origin

The main sending countries in terms of the level of expenditure in May were the United Kingdom (with 18.5% of the total), Germany (11.1%) and France (7.8%).

The expenditure of tourists resident in the United Kingdom increased by 6.2% at annual rate, that of those from Germany by 13.4% and that of those from France by 7.2%.

International tourist expenditure by country of residence. May 2026

During the first five months of 2026, the UK was the country with the highest cumulative expenditure (16.0% of the total). It was followed by Germany (11.9%) and France (7.7%).

Expenditure items

The expenditure on international transport (not included in package tours) was the main item in May, with 20.8% of total expenditure and an increase of 9.6% compared to the same month in 2025.

The following items were expenditure on activities and accommodation, with 20.3% and 18.0% of the total, respectively. The former increased by 11.7% and the latter by 9.5%.

International tourist expenditure by expenditure categories. May 2026

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

66.0% of the total expenditure in May was made by tourists who stayed overnight in hotels, with an annual increase of 6.5%. On the other hand, expenditure on non-market accommodation increased by 23.9%.

Expenditure by tourists not travelling with a package tour increased by 9.3% in annual terms. For those who contracted a package tour, it increased by 15.7%.

In terms of the reason for travel, tourists visiting Spain for leisure generated 82.9% of the total expenditure, with a 9.4% higher spend than in May 2025.

International tourist expenditure by main type of accommodation, method of organization and main purpose of the trip. May 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 tourist expenditure in May were Cataluña (with 19.1% of the total), Illes Balears (18.9%) and Comunidad de Madrid (16.0%). Tourist expenditure increased by 13.1% in annual rate in Cataluña, by 9.2% in Illes Balears and by 22.2% in Comunidad de Madrid.

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

During the first five months of 2026, the communities with the highest cumulative expenditure were Canarias (with 20.5% of the total), Catalonia (18.1%) and Comunidad de Madrid (16.2%).

Data revisions and updates

The data published today are provisional and will be revised in March next year. All results of this operation are available on 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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