- Spain is on course to exceed 100m foreign tourists in 2026.
- Between January and August the country hosted more than 70.4m visitors.
- Málaga uses AI to manage cruise passenger flows.
- Barcelona’s overnight surcharges raised €148m in local revenue in 2025.
- Barcelona is phasing out approximately 10,000 short-term rental licences by 2028.
Spain is on course to exceed 100m foreign tourists for the first time in 2026. Between January and August the country hosted more than 70.4m international visitors a rise of 5.4pc. Major destinations are responding to saturation with new tourist taxes and artificial intelligence tools.
Málaga is using AI to manage cruise passenger flows after more than 310,000 cruise visitors arrived in the first eight months of the year. Barcelona continues to apply overnight surcharges that raised €148m in local revenue in 2025. The national government under its Tourism 2030 plan is promoting lesser-known inland and offbeat regions to draw foot traffic away from saturated coasts.
Tourism makes up roughly 13pc of Spain’s GDP generating over €135bn in recent annual revenues. Local residents across hotspots like Barcelona the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands have staged anti-tourism demonstrations. Barcelona is working to phase out approximately 10,000 short-term rental licences by 2028.
