- 272,940 Irish visits to Spain, 56pc ahead of pre-pandemic
- Ireland third highest rate of increase of major markets
- Spain received 9.1m international tourists in April 2026
- Arrivals increased by 5.2pc compared with April 2025
- England led with nearly 1.7m visitors
- Catalonia accounted for 20.8pc of total arrivals
- Market accommodation grew by 4.2pc in April
Ireland sent 272,940 visitors to Spain in April 2026, up 9.1pc on 2025 despite an earlier Easter travel; period, and up 56.3pc on pre-pandemic. Rolling annual was 2,793,884, up 7pc on the twelve months to April 2025.
Data from the FRONTUR statistics released by the Spanish National Statistics Institute shows 9.1m international visitors arriving in April 2026. The figure represents a 5.2pc increase from the same month in 2025. Cumulative arrivals for the first four months of the year have reached 26.6m.
England remained the top source market with 1.7m visitors in April. France sent 1.3m and Germany 1.2m. Catalonia attracted the highest share of arrivals at 20.8pc followed by Andalusia and the Balearic Islands.
Hotel accommodation grew by 3.2pc while rented accommodation rose by 12.1pc. Tourists staying four to seven nights formed the largest group with over 4.6m visitors in that category.
Spain hosted 26.5m international tourists in the first four months of 2026, marking a solid performance with spending up by 6.7pc compared to the previous year.
This growth reflects resilience amid global challenges, with key drivers including increased demand from traditional European markets and diversification efforts.
Industry professionals highlight the importance of sustainable practices and infrastructure readiness to maintain this momentum through the peak summer season.
