Canary Islands See Small Drop in International Tourists and Spending in July
The Canary Islands have recorded a slight fall in international tourist numbers and visitor spending during July, despite Spain as a whole experiencing another strong month for tourism.
The latest figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) show that 1,222,895 international tourists visited the Canary Islands in July 2026. That was around 0.7% fewer than in July 2025.
At the same time, international tourists spent approximately €2.19 billion in the Canary Islands during July, representing a 1.3% decrease compared with the same month last year.
That makes the Canary Islands stand out from Spain’s other major tourism destinations, where both visitor numbers and spending generally continued to grow.
Spain enjoys a strong July for tourism
The Canary Islands’ slight decline comes against a backdrop of particularly strong tourism figures across Spain.
Spain welcomed 11.54 million international tourists in July, an increase of 4.6% compared with July 2025.
International visitors also spent a record €18.22 billion during the month, up 10.9% year-on-year.
The average international tourist spent €1,579 during their trip to Spain, while average daily spending reached €218.
The figures demonstrate that demand for holidays in Spain remains extremely strong, although the Canary Islands did not experience the same level of growth during July.
What does this mean for Lanzarote?
For Lanzarote tourism, the figures are particularly interesting.
Lanzarote remained one of the most popular islands in the Canary Islands during July. According to ISTAC, the island accounted for approximately 20% of all tourist arrivals to the archipelago, putting it behind Tenerife and ahead of some of the other islands.
Tenerife received around 600,000 tourists during the month, representing four out of every ten arrivals, while Lanzarote’s share was approximately one in five.
So although the overall international figures for the Canary Islands dipped slightly, Lanzarote continued to attract a substantial share of visitors looking for a holiday in the Canary Islands.
Not all tourist numbers fell
There is another important point hidden behind the headline figures.
ISTAC’s wider tourism data shows that around 1.5 million tourists arrived in the Canary Islands during July, an increase of 2.7% compared with July 2025.
The difference is because this figure includes tourists arriving from both international markets and elsewhere in Spain.
International visitors accounted for 8.4 out of every 10 arrivals, with the UK remaining by far the largest source market. More than 576,000 visitors came from the UK during July, representing around 37% of all arrivals.
Visitors from mainland Spain also increased, rising by 10.8% year-on-year.
For Lanzarote businesses, therefore, the overall picture is more complicated than simply saying that tourism has fallen.
Tourists are still spending heavily
Although international tourist spending in the Canary Islands was down slightly in July, the amount being spent remains substantial.
International visitors spent approximately €2.19 billion in the Canary Islands, with average spending per international tourist standing at around €1,790.
Interestingly, daily spending was actually higher than a year earlier. The average international visitor spent approximately €236 per day, an increase of 7.8%.
This suggests that the small reduction in total spending was not necessarily because visitors were dramatically cutting back on their holiday budgets. Rather, the number of international visitors was slightly lower and the overall calculation was affected by factors including the length of stays.
Lanzarote accommodation remains particularly strong
The latest Canary Islands accommodation figures also provide a more positive picture for Lanzarote holidays.
Across the Canary Islands, hotels and tourist apartments recorded around 8.9 million overnight stays during July, a marginal 0.3% decrease from the previous year.
However, accommodation businesses generated €507 million in revenue, an increase of 5.8% year-on-year.
The average occupancy rate for rooms and apartments was 78.6%, with Lanzarote recording the highest occupancy level of all the Canary Islands during the month.
That is an encouraging figure for hotels, apartments and other accommodation businesses on the island.
The UK remains hugely important to Lanzarote tourism
The latest figures also underline just how important the British holiday market continues to be for the Canary Islands.
The UK supplied around 37% of all tourists arriving in the islands during July, making it by far the largest individual source market.
For Lanzarote, where British visitors make up a significant proportion of the holiday market, developments in the UK travel market can have a noticeable effect on local businesses, including hotels, restaurants, bars, excursions, car hire companies and other tourism-related services.
Is tourism in Lanzarote falling?
The July figures shouldn’t necessarily be interpreted as a sign that Lanzarote tourism is in decline.
Instead, they point towards a tourism market that is remaining extremely busy but is beginning to show some differences between individual destinations and visitor markets.
Spain as a whole enjoyed a record-breaking July, while the Canary Islands experienced a comparatively modest reduction in international arrivals.
At the same time, Lanzarote continued to attract a significant proportion of visitors to the islands and recorded the highest accommodation occupancy rate in the Canary Islands.
The coming months will therefore be important in determining whether July’s small decline is simply a temporary fluctuation or part of a longer-term change in Canary Islands tourism.
The figures at a glance
- 1.22 million international tourists visited the Canary Islands in July.
- International arrivals were 0.7% lower than July 2025.
- International tourist spending reached around €2.19 billion, down 1.3%.
- Average spending per international visitor was around €1,790.
- Average daily spending increased 7.8% to around €236.
- Around 1.5 million tourists in total arrived in the Canary Islands, including visitors from Spain.
- Lanzarote accounted for around 20% of Canary Islands tourist arrivals.
- Lanzarote recorded the highest accommodation occupancy rate among the islands.
- The UK remained the largest source market, accounting for around 37% of arrivals.
For tourists and residents in Lanzarote, the message is therefore fairly reassuring: despite the headline about falling international tourism, the island remains one of the busiest and most popular holiday destinations in the Canary Islands.
