Spain has surpassed its summer tourism records for both July and August 2025, totalling 22.3 million visitors for the period, an increase of 2.3 per cent year-on-year despite increasing disquiet about overtourism and a tough governmental stance on short-term rental providers.
July saw Spain welcoming 11 million international visitors, according to figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE), while August saw 11.3 million. The two high season months bring the country’s total international tourists for the first eight months of 2025 to just below 66.8 million, breaking 2024’s record for the same period by 3.9 per cent, the INE said. As a result, Spain seems set to break the annual record set in 2024.
While international arrivals over the summer pushed Spanish tourism to unseen heights, domestic holidaymakers appear to be favouring the cooler, so-called “shoulder” months. Even though August is a traditional time to take a month’s vacation in France and southern Europe, the National Observatory of Outbound Tourism (ObservaTUR) noticed that this year, the month was shunned by over 60% of Spaniards, one in six of whom pushed their holiday plans back to September in 2025.
"El turismo recobra el pulso en agosto: España registra un récord mensual de 11,3 millones de llegadas" (El País 02.10.2025).
— Santiago Niño (@sninobecerra) October 2, 2025
Gasto medio por turista y día de estancia (2025: 31 Agosto). pic.twitter.com/ctJmeDH6JH
The success of Spain as a tourist magnet, now just one place behind France in the ranks of the most popular destinations in the world, comes, some would argue, at a price. The country’s legislators have been in a battle of wills with low-cost airlines such as Ryanair, which say airport charges across the Spanish territory are too high. Short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb have also drawn the ire of authorities. Airbnb was forced to remove tens of thousands of listings earlier this year due to its non-compliance with new regulations.
The regulatory issues are an attempt by officials to address widespread discontent about the cost of living and perceived disparities between citizens and visitors. Some Spaniards report they can no longer afford to go on holiday at their own beaches, while others cannot afford housing, or say they are being crowded out of their own public transport.
Destinations such as Málaga have introduced codes of conduct for visitors to help them avoid the disapproval of locals, but mass protests against tourism and civil disobedience attacking tourist infrastructure are just some of the consequences that prove keeping both tourists and residents happy is a delicate balance in a country for which tourism represents around 15% of GDP.
