British holidaymakers spent a record €24 billion in Spain last year, according to the National Statistics Institute (INE), making them by far the biggest-spending foreign tourists in the country.
The UK leads
| Country | Tourist spending in 2025 |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | about €24 billion |
| Germany | about €16 billion |
| France | about €11 billion |
British visitors accounted for nearly 18% of all spending by international tourists, and their spending rose by around 5% on the previous year.
A record year
Spain received 97 million international visitors in 2025, another record. The tourism sector employs around three million people.
Tourism minister Jordi Hereu said the upward trend was expected to continue in 2026, possibly taking visitor numbers past 100 million. He stressed, however, that growth should be economically, socially and environmentally sustainable, rather than simply a matter of chasing higher numbers.
2026 so far
By April 2026, international visitors had spent €36 billion in Spain, 7.5% more than in the same period of 2025. British tourists contributed around €5.5 billion of that, while arrivals from Germany and France fell slightly.
Pressure on residents
The success of tourism also brings tensions, particularly in the most popular destinations. Rising rents have made housing harder to afford for local people, and in Mallorca campaigners warn that the island is becoming a “theme park” where young people struggle to live independently.
The group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) has called a large march through Palma on 26 July, following similar protests in previous summers in the Balearics and the Canary Islands.
The balance
For the Balearics, where the UK is one of the two largest markets along with Germany, British spending is vital to the economy. The challenge for governments is to keep that economic benefit while addressing residents’ concerns about housing, overcrowding and quality of life — a debate that is set to dominate another summer.
