Spain welcomed 19.1 million UK visitors in 2025, marking a 4.4% increase from 2024, with a continued shift to off-peak travel.
Speaking in a media briefing today (Tuesday), Spanish Tourist Office UK Director Manuel Butler confirmed travel outside of the main peak months has continued, with summer travel flattening and more Brits travelling in the shoulder season.
Data from the tourist board showed UK visitors from June-September 2025 were up 1.8% compared to the same period in 2024, and almost flat (0.1%) compared to 2019.
In contrast, from October to December last year, UK visitors were up 2.7% compared to the previous year and 14.7% compared to 2019.
Manuel said: “We are trying to lead the conversation in the tourism arena in the UK and our strategy isn’t just focusing on volume, it’s looking at sustainability and year-round travel.
“One of the key objectives is to drive tourists beyond the traditional peak months, and I am pleased to say the numbers are supporting this direction. Spain is successfully becoming a year-round destination.
“Hotels, restaurants and attractions are now open later into October, and for Mallorca into November.”
The average stay in Spain is currently 6.78 days, and Manuel said the tourist board is hoping to promote longer stays for tourists.
He explained: “I know we are against the trend of shorter and shorter stays, but we are trying to do our best.”
Manuel added that there is a growing appetite for ‘green Spain’ from the British market, with well-known destinations such as the Balearics, Catalonia and Madrid flattening or slightly declining, at 0.5%, -1.5% and -3.9% respectively.
In particular, areas in Northern Spain saw increases. Galicia saw a 47.4% increase with 108,246 UK tourists visiting in 2025, and the Basque Country climbed 40% to 182,876. Galicia includes destinations such as Vigo and Santiago de Compostela and A Coruña.
“These areas are growing dramatically – clients are looking for new things to discover, such as gastronomy, landscape and the weather,” said Manuel.
The region of Murcia (pictured) was also up 19% with 371,722 visitors last year, which Manuel said was helped by increased flights from Ryanair and easyJet.
There is also rising interest in Aragon, which recorded the biggest jump in UK visitors from 34,268 to 91,813 in 2025.
Manuel said he hadn’t received any reports from tour operators of bookings for half-term or Easter being affected by Spain’s recent bad weather.
