Andalucía prepares for summer tourism boom with surges in jobs and spending

According to projections released by acting regional Tourism minister Arturo Bernal, visitor numbers during the peak season are expected to rise by 2.6 per cent compared with summer 2025.

Employment in the sector is also forecast to increase by seven per cent, while tourist spending is predicted to grow by 3.6 per cent. In fact, the report estimates that tourism will support around 550,000 jobs between June and September.

“These forecasts show Andalucía is making progress in increasing the benefits tourism brings to the region during the summer season, with improvements in quality helping employment and income grow faster than visitor numbers,” the Department of Tourism said.

Both domestic and international tourism are expected to grow, although overseas markets are forecast to expand more strongly. Andalucía is expected to remain the leading destination for Spanish travellers, attracting around 9.7 million domestic tourists between July and September, up 1.7 per cent on the previous summer.

International arrivals are forecast to reach 4.5 million, representing growth of 4.5 per cent compared with 2025.

The report also predicts increases in hotel demand across all eight provinces. Seville is expected to record the strongest growth in hotel overnight stays, up 7.4 per cent on last year, followed by Malaga with a 3.5 per cent increase and Granada with growth of 3.3 per cent.

Hotels across the region are forecast to register 21.2 million overnight stays during the summer, three per cent more than in 2025. Monthly growth is expected to reach 2.9 per cent in July, three per cent in August and 3.1 per cent in September, reinforcing the growing importance of the latter month within the summer tourism season.

“In this case, international visitors will account for most of the increase, making 10.8 million overnight stays, 5.6 per cent more than last year, while domestic tourists will generate 10.4 million overnight stays, up 0.4 per cent,” the department said.

Hotel occupancy is forecast to rise by 1.4 percentage points to 68 per cent of available capacity. August is expected to be the busiest month, with occupancy reaching 73.37 per cent, compared with 66.95 per cent in July and 63.8 per cent in September.

Airport traffic is also expected to increase. The report forecasts 38,500 flights arriving in Andalucía between July and September, 7.7 per cent more than during the same period last year.

Those services are expected to provide capacity for 6.9 million airline seats, an average increase of 8.6 per cent. The strongest growth is forecast for September, when seat capacity is expected to rise by 10.7 per cent.