A recent BBVA Research report analyzing tourist flows indicates a deceleration in card spending across Spain during the second quarter of 2025. Tourist spending, including both domestic and international visitors, saw an increase of 5.7% compared to the same period the previous year.
Now, that’s a bit lower – 4.5 percentage points, to be precise – than what we saw before. Interestingly, the main reason? Seems to be a slowdown in foreign tourism. However, not all areas performed the same, and a potential upturn in the tourism industry is expected this autumn.
Regional Performance in Tourist Spending
The regional figures? They’re quite varied, as the report underlines. Consumption growth was particularly strong in Madrid, the Canary Islands, Murcia, the Valencian Community, and Cantabria – driven by both domestic and foreign tourist. The Balearic Islands, though, bucked the trend, actually seeing a drop in spending. That’s something to note. For overall slowdown, Madrid, the Canary Islands, and Catalonia were main contributors, reflecting their importance to Spain’s broader tourism revenue.
Provincial Highlights
Zooming into provinces, traditional beach hotspots – think Las Palmas, Alicante, Murcia, and Cantabria – alongside Madrid, Ciudad Real, and Bizkaia showed good tourist spending. Urban spots, however, such as Melilla, Gipuzkoa, Zaragoza, Ceuta, and Barcelona, and also the Balearic Islands, Ourense, and Huesca, underperformed. This points to regional variations in how things are bouncing back.
Foreign Tourism: A Key Driver Slows Down
Foreign tourism, a mainstay of Spanish tourism, did its part supporting spending growth between May and August, especially in Madrid, the Canary Islands, and along the Mediterranean coast. However, the growth rate was 8.1% in Q2 2025. That’s notably less – 8.7 percentage points less – than the year before. There was a rebound in June (+12.7%), but it softened afterwards, reaching a low of 4.8% growth come August. Starting mid-2024, this slowdown really shows the difficulty of keeping that foreign tourism momentum up in the face of rising costs.
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Domestic Demand Moderates
Spanish travelers holidaying outside their home provinces also spent less, relatively speaking. Domestic tourism spending increased by just 2.9% between May and August, a five-percentage-point dip from last year. Still, domestic travelers added to the pot in many regions. The north and inland regions like Cantabria, Navarre, the Basque Country, and Castilla-La Mancha did particularly well. Once again, the Balearic Islands experienced a snag, with less domestic spending.
Factors Influencing the Slowdown
Rising prices seem to be a big factor behind this slowdown, particularly when it comes to places to stay and getting around. Transport costs are up again after falling sharply a couple of years back, and other sectors linked to tourism have somewhat eased up on price hikes. Still, the rates are generally high, which may discourage both locals and visitors from abroad. And let’s not forget things like the fires that happened in mid-August and interruptions to train services in Ourense, León, and Zamora; they had an impact on tourism performance in those particular areas.
Optimistic Outlook for Autumn
Despite the challenges, BBVA Research maintains a somewhat optimistic view of tourism for the fall of 2025. Non-face-to-face spending on travel and lodging – kind of an early indicator of tourist bookings – has been trending upward lately. This means, perhaps, greater growth in tourist spending is on the horizon. The report suggests that if booking patterns improve and there is sustained interest in Spain’s many attractive destinations, there might yet be a recovery, even with the prices going up.