ACRONYMS National Statistics Institute
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2 October 2026

Total Expenditure Survey

August 2026. Provisional data

Main results

  • The total expenditure of international tourists who visited Spain in August increased by 9.2% and reached 17.838 billion euros.
  • The average daily expenditure increased by 1.9%, reaching 202 euros.

The total expenditure by international tourists who visited Spain in August reached 17.838 billion euros, with an increase of 9.2% compared with the same month in 2025.

The average expenditure per tourist was 1,455 euros, similar to the previous year. Meanwhile, the average daily expenditure increased by 1.9%, reaching 202 euros.

Annual rate of change in total expenditure by international tourists

Year-on-year change. Percentage

During the first eight months of 2026, total spending by international tourists increased by 8.0% and reached 99.892 billion euros.

Source countries

The main source countries in terms of spending levels in August were the United Kingdom (with 18.9% of the total), France (12.6%), and Germany (11.1%).

Spending by tourists resident in the United Kingdom increased by 7.6% year-on-year, that of those from France by 2.1%, and that of those from Germany by 8.2%.

Spending of international tourists by country of residence. August 2026

In the first eight months of 2026, the United Kingdom was the country with the highest accumulated expenditure (17.3% of the total). They were followed by Germany (11.2%) and France (8.6%).

Expense items

Spending on accommodation was the main item in August, accounting for 20.7% of total expenditure and an increase of 9.4% compared with the same month in 2025.

The next items were expenditure on the tour package and on activities, accounting for 18.5% and 18.4% of the total, respectively. The first increased by 9.9% and the second by 8.2%.

Expenditure of international tourists by spending categories. August 2026

Type of accommodation, form of organisation and reason for travel

63.4% of the total expenditure in August was made by tourists who stayed in hotel accommodations, with a year-on-year increase of 7.4%. Meanwhile, spending on non-market accommodation grew by 4.8%.

The spending of tourists who did not travel with a package tour increased by 8.0% year-on-year. The number of those who booked a package tour increased by 12.5%.

Regarding the reason for travel, tourists who visited Spain for leisure accounted for 91.4% of the total expenditure, with spending 8.4% higher than in August 2025.

Expenditure of international tourists by main type of accommodation, form of organisation and main reason for travel. August 2026

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

Main destination autonomous communities

The main destination autonomous communities with the highest share of tourist spending in August were the Illes Balears (22.8% of the total), Cataluña (18.7%), and Andalucía (15.7%). Tourist spending increased by 4.2% year-on-year in the Illes Balears, 7.2% in Cataluña, and 18.8% in Andalucía.

Expenditure of international tourists by main destination autonomous community. August 2026

In the first eight months of 2026, the regions with the highest accumulated expenditure were Cataluña (with 18.9% of the total), the Illes Balears (16.4%), and Canarias (16.4%).

Data revisions and updates

The data published today are provisional and will be revised in March next year. 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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