Spain’s tourism dominance is no accident—it’s the result of a finely tuned balance between cultural allure, strategic connectivity, and data-backed insights. In 2025, the country not only sustain its reputation as a magnet for global travelers but also sets new benchmarks in tourism demand across Southern Europe. Key data reveals that Spain now attracts one-third of all international travel interest in the region, reaffirming its pivotal role in shaping European tourism trends. Europe Travel Demand? Find out more below.

Spain reaffirms its position as a global tourism leader, capturing 33% of total international travel demand to Southern Europe for the first half of 2025, according to the latest analysis performed by Mabrian, the global travel intelligence platform, part of The Data Appeal Company-Alphawave Group. Key destinations like Madrid, Barcelona, and the Canary Islands continue to attract international visitors year-round, showcasing Spain’s vital role in driving sustainable growth for the region’s tourism industry.

These findings reflect inspirational travel demand data based on Mabrian’s Share of Searches Index*, which measures market interest in specific destinations by analysing flight search behaviour globally, independent of confirmed bookings. For this analysis, the Share of Searches Index tracked global flight searches to the top 20 airports in Spain, representing 82% of the total travel demand to the country. The study focuses exclusively on international demand for trips between January and June 2025, comparing Spain’s global share of demand to last year.

Overall, 74.4% of global inspirational travel demand to Spain during the first semester 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 pull these Spanish destinations have among international travellers,” says Carlos Cendra, Director of Marketing and Communications at Mabrian.

Spain’s two main connectivity hubs, Madrid and Barcelona, account for 24% and 21.7%, respectively, of total international demand to the country. Both cities are also experiencing a surge in inspirational demand, with Madrid increasing its global inspirational demand share by +3 percentage points compared to the first half of 2024. Barcelona, similarly, has grown by +1.2 percentage points year-over-year.

On the other hand, Mabrian’s data suggests that the Canary Islands will continue to be trending destinations among international visitors travelling to Spain during the first half of 2025. Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura are all showing higher demand shares compared to the same period in 2024. Tenerife leads the trend, capturing 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,” says Cendra. These include Malaga, Alicante, and Palma de Mallorca, that represent, respectively, 6.4%, 4.3% and 4.1% of global inspirational demand to Spain. “This positive trend reflects the sustained efforts to position these destinations as year-round options,” he adds.

Spain Captures One-Third of Global Travel Demand to Southern Europe  

The Spanish 20 destinations analysed—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 significant role in driving demand to Europe” Cendra explains. With Spain breaking a new record in 2024 by welcoming 94 million international travellers, he emphasizes that “data intelligence is crucial for optimizing this demand, ensuring that resources are managed effectively to keep travel and tourism both productive and beneficial for the industry and local communities.”

Final thoughts about Spain and Europe Travel Demand

Spain’s remarkable success as a global tourism leader stems from its ability to integrate diverse strengths into a cohesive and forward-thinking strategy. By combining its rich cultural and natural offerings with advanced data intelligence and innovative tourism management, Spain has positioned itself as a model for sustainable growth. The country’s strategic investment in connectivity, infrastructure, and marketing ensures that it remains not just a destination but a beacon for modern travel trends.

Moreover, Spain’s reliance on platforms like Mabrian reflects a deep understanding of how data-driven insights can guide decision-making, optimizing resources while aligning with traveler demands. This approach enables Spanish destinations to stay competitive in attracting year-round international visitors, leveraging trends in global travel behavior.

What sets Spain apart is its ability to balance tradition with innovation, offering experiences that resonate with a broad audience while staying adaptable to market changes. Its success is not merely the result of its renowned cities or landscapes, but a testament to its strategic vision—one that integrates technology, sustainability, and cultural heritage into a unified force driving global tourism forward.

About Mabrian

Mabrian Technologies (Mabrian), the global travel intelligence platform, is a company specialized in providing travel intelligence services worldwide. Founded in 2013, Mabrian joined The Data Appeal Company—Alphawave Group in 2023.

Combining big data and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, simultaneous insights from over 30 global data sources, and the comprehensive travel intelligence expertise of its team of specialists, Mabrian is able to identify and predict tourism dynamics and trends worldwide. Mabrian’s modular dashboard grants access to a holistic monitoring centre that traces, measures, and cross-analyses travellers’ full journey: air connectivity and demand, hotels, holiday rentals, travelers’ sentiment and demand drivers, spending patterns and behaviour, mobility, and sustainability.

Currently operating in over 40 countries, Mabrian caters to the needs of the travel & tourism industry, companies, entities, and public bodies, ranging from all-level Destination Management Offices (national, regional, and local), hotel companies, chains, and transportation to tourism-related consultancies (marketing, promotion, strategy, investment, etc.), providing up-to-date, contextual, predictive, and insightful data intelligence for strategic and business development, as well as for policy and decision-making.