Unprecedented Tourism Growth in the Canary Islands
Tourism in the Canary Islands has moved beyond surprising statistical leaps; it now consistently delivers strong growth, quantitative improvements, and significant percentage increases across all key economic indicators. This is most evident in the number of foreign arrivals—the most crucial segment for the islands—and their corresponding tourist expenditure. It’s important to note that this spending figure is not equivalent to the revenue retained by local businesses and residents, even though tourism is the archipelago’s central economic pillar, accounting for 37.5% of the regional GDP.
Record-Breaking Visitor Numbers Forecast
Several key conclusions can be drawn from the current data. First, it is almost certain that 2025 will see the Canary Islands break the foreign tourism record set in 2024. The previous record from 1997 was already comfortably surpassed in 2024 with 14.3 million foreign visitors, up from 14.2 million in 2023. With the peak season (October 2025 to March 2026) still ahead, projections indicate the islands will welcome a staggering 15.2 million international tourists this year.
2025 Performance Exceeds All Expectations
The current year is already showing explosive growth. By the end of August 2025, the islands had received 10.37 million foreign visitors, representing an increase of nearly 620,000 people. August alone saw 1.23 million arrivals—a 6% year-on-year increase and the best August on record for this metric. The average growth rate for the first eight months of 2025 stands at 4.5%, implying the absolute threshold of foreign visitors by the end of the year will be around 15.8 million.
Total Tourism Nears 18.5 Million
When adding the domestic tourism segment (estimated at 2.5 million or more visitors), the total inbound tourism figure for the Canary Islands in 2025 is expected to approach 18.5 million visitors. This shatters the previous highest total of 17.7 million visitors recorded in 2024. This growth is particularly remarkable considering that during the Fitur 2025 tourism fair, the Regional Ministry of Tourism repeatedly emphasized that a ceiling had been reached. That supposed limit has now been confirmed as pure fiction.
Tourist Spending Reaches Staggering Heights
The second major trend is even more significant: more foreign tourists naturally leads to higher absolute spending, but the growth doesn’t stop there. The increase is not just from receiving more travelers; it is compounded by a rise in per capita spending among those who arrive. This dual effect explains how the Canary Islands achieved a monumental €2.23 billion in tourist expenditure from the 1.2 million foreigners received in August 2025 alone. This figure represents a 14% growth compared to the same period in 2024—a truly colossal increase.
Billions Poured into the Local Economy
Looking at the cumulative data for January to August, tourist spending has reached a threshold of €16.273 billion. This amount constitutes 17.6% of Spain’s national total, making it the second highest contribution behind Catalonia. Compared to the €14.959 billion recorded in the same period of 2024 (which was 17.3% of Spain’s total), this represents an absolute increase of €1.314 billion in just eight months. In other words, the islands have seen a 9% rise in tourist spending during the analysis period. An extraordinary achievement by any measure.
