Spanish tourists return to Costa del Sol: domestic bookings outstrip foreign market growth in H1 2026

The surge marks a major turnaround for Malaga province, where domestic arrivals had dropped by nearly 11% during the same period in 2025.

The figures from the latest Coyuntura Turística report by Turismo Costa del Sol indicate that activity across all accommodation types in the province (hotels, holiday flats, campsites and holiday cottages) saw a 12.3% increase in overnight stays by Spanish tourists during the first half of the year, three times that of the rise in bookings by international tourists.

These increases have pushed the total number of overnight stays across all accommodation types from January to June up to 14.5 million. This means that the sector has recorded a total of 821,608 more nights booked, a 6% increase compared with the same period last year.

It is worth noting that, in the first six months of 2025, arrivals and stays by Spanish tourists in accommodation in the Costa del Sol recorded a fall of almost 11%.

Of these 14.5 million overnight stays, 3.1 million were accounted for by the 1,280,010 domestic tourists. According to the report, the number of Spanish visitors in the first half of the year rose by 6.4%, doubling the increase in the number of guests from outside Spain.

Overnight stays by Spanish tourists increased across all types of accommodation except for rural holiday homes. Holiday flats ended the half-year with a 56.4% increase in nights booked by Spanish tourists, totalling 633,493, that is, 228,435 more than in the first six months of 2025.

Hotels in the province are also performing well across the board, having exceeded ten million overnight stays in six months for the first time, following growth of 4.2%. Of these, 2,246,021 million overnight stays were by Spanish tourists, a 6.7% increase compared with the first six months of the landmark year 2025.

The Costa del Sol study also confirms an increase in domestic tourists to nearly one million, following a 3% rise over the same period. This increase, as in the case of the number of stays, outpaces the growth rate and momentum of foreign visitors, who saw a rise of 2.1% in the number of stays and 3.5% in the number of nights booked, exceeding eight million stays (8,135,940) for the first time.

Furthermore, the average length of stay has risen to 3.44 days and the average occupancy rate has closed at just under 72% of rooms, 2% higher than in 2025.

On the other hand, there are the sectors linked to camping and rural holiday homes, where the trend in activity is predominantly negative, including for Spanish visitors. The domestic tourism segment has borne the brunt, with a 25% drop in the number of tourists, both Spanish and foreign, and a fall of almost 36% in the number of overnight stays, with a particularly pronounced decline in international tourism.

Director general of Turismo Costa del Sol Antonio Díaz has described the figures for the first half of 2026 as "very positive", particularly the growth in domestic tourism, which is "strategic" for the province.

"They bring us seasonality, stability and employment. In fact, employment in the tourism sector has grown by 4.1%, with 6,551 more jobs than last year. These tourists know the destination, return and boost retail, the hospitality sector and culture in all municipalities," he stated.

On specific holidays and during long weekends, Díaz said, domestic tourism breaks records for overnight stays in very specific areas of the province. The aim is to encourage Spanish visitors to choose the destination all year round.

Turismo Costa del Sol has increased the promotional budget earmarked exclusively for the domestic market by 20%, which, according to Díaz, will help the Cosa del Sol "remain the preferred destination for Spaniards".

The aim is to attract Spanish residents not only in summer, but also in autumn, winter and spring. When domestic tourism grows and is more evenly spread throughout the year, the tourism sector in Malaga fares better. "The figures for the first half of this year confirm this," Díaz stated.

The report analyses the performance of businesses and highlights that the province's accommodation supply is growing by 3.2%, now totalling 97,461 establishments, which provide a total of 718,963 beds. This demonstrates that the destination still has room for growth, to the extent that in the first six months of the year there were 23,140 beds available to accommodate tourists, an increase of 3.3%, according to data from the Andalusian tourism register.

The study also compares the Costa del Sol with other coastal provinces. Among them, it ranks fourth in terms of visitor numbers and fifth in terms of overnight stays. In the latter category, the Balearic Islands, Las Palmas, Barcelona and Santa Cruz de Tenerife surpass Malaga.

The strong performance of international markets is particularly noteworthy, given that almost 30% of visitors come from abroad.

The UK ended the half-year with a 1.6% increase in the number of British visitors who chose the Costa del Sol for their holidays. Between January and June, 653,088 visitors arrived, 10,547 more than in the same period of the record-breaking year 2025.

Furthermore, the study reveals strong growth in key markets such as Germany (+10%) and Italy (+5.4%). Arrivals from Poland stand out with growth of around 30%, largely due to the launch of new routes with direct flights to various cities.

Sweden, Denmark and Norway are also maintaining an upward trend, rising by 11%. This confirms the recovery of a tourism sector that had begun to enter a recession following the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, which sent prices soaring and caused the currency to depreciate.

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