Tourism | Spain dominates destinations in Southern Europe - 33% share in global searches

According to the data, Spain attracts 33% of global international travel demand to Southern Europe and 12% of global travel demand overall throughout Europe during the first half of 2025. In fact, it strengthens the attractiveness of its destinations for tourism all year round, with increased demand during the months outside the summer season.

Thus, key destinations such as Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands continue to attract international visitors all year round, reinforcing Spain’s vital role in promoting sustainable development for the Mediterranean tourism industry.

The study calculates travel demand based on the Mabrian Search Index. The Share of Searches Index analyses flight search behavior worldwide, independent of confirmed bookings. Global flight searches were examined at the top 20 airports in Spain, which account for 82% of total travel demand in the country. The study focuses exclusively on international demand for travel between January and June 2025, comparing Spain’s global share of demand with previous years.

10 destinations account for 74% of demand

Overall, 74.4% of global demand for travel to Spain in the first half of 2025 is concentrated in just 10 destinations: Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga, Alicante, Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Valencia, Seville and Lanzarote. “This concentration highlights the strong appeal that these Spanish destinations have among international travelers,” says Carlos Cendra, Marketing and Communications Director at Mabrian.

Spain’s two main connectivity hubs, Madrid and Barcelona, ​​account for 24% and 21.7%, respectively, of total international demand in the country. Both cities are seeing an increase in searches: Madrid by 3 percentage points compared to the first half of 2024 and Barcelona by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year.

The Canary Islands are also strengthening their position as the main destination for international visitors traveling to Spain in the first half of the year. The islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura all have higher demand shares compared to the same period in 2024. Tenerife leads the trend, accounting for 3.7% of international travel demand to Spain, followed by Gran Canaria with 3.4%.

“Three other destinations are worth monitoring due to their ability to attract international demand,” comments Mr. Cendra. These include Malaga, Alicante, and Palma de Mallorca, which account for 6.4%, 4.3,% and 4.1% of global searches to Spain respectively. “This positive trend reflects the continued efforts to position these destinations as year-round options,” he adds.

Spain attracts a third of global travel demand to Southern Europe

The 20 Spanish destinations analyzed (including Ibiza and Menorca in the Balearic Islands, Tarragona and Girona in Catalonia, Granada in Andalusia, as well as Bilbao and Santiago de Compostela in Northern Spain) account for 33% of total international travel demand to Southern Europe and 12% of global demand for travel to Europe.

This data reinforces Spain’s position as a leading global destination and its important role in increasing demand for Europe, explains Mr. Cendra. With Spain set to break a new record in 2024 by welcoming 94 million international travelers, he highlights, that data intelligence is vital to optimizing this demand, ensuring effective resource management to keep travel and tourism both productive and beneficial for the industry and local communities.

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