Exceltur demands from the next Spanish government "maximum political priority" for tourism

BarcelonjaThe tourism sector in the State asks to be at the center of the agenda of the Spanish government that emerges from the polls on November 29. This has been demanded by the tourism association Exceltur, which places first on its list of demands that the next executive grant tourism "the maximum political priority it requires as the main sector and driver of the Spanish economy". In this sense, tourism entrepreneurs see the need for a "renewed strategic roadmap" to face "the most important challenges" that affect the visitor economy.

Among Exceltur's top priorities is investment in transport infrastructure, both in the airport sector and in high-speed rail and ports. They also put on the table "consolidating a legal framework" for tourist rentals, which they believe should be considered "as an economic activity", with the corresponding taxes that should be imposed on them. For the entity, the regulation must also involve "digital platforms to avoid the commercialization of the illegal offer" of this type of rental.

Exceltur considers that it has been a successful summer for the tourism sector in the State. According to the entity, Spanish tourism activity has "maintained its dynamism" in the summer months, with growth in sales of companies across the entire tourism value chain of 4.1%.

The association also expects a "moderation" in activity for the last quarter of the year, with a slowdown in growth to 2.8% until December. Even so, it maintains the calculations for the year as a whole, which would raise the tourism gross domestic product (GDP) for all of 2026 by 2.7%, above the average of the Spanish economy. If this estimate is met, the tourism sector would contribute nearly 227 billion euros to the State's economy.

Summer of "record" in Catalonia

In the Catalan case, this dynamism of tourism demand has been reflected in a summer season with a "record number of hotel travelers and spending," according to the data presented this Tuesday by Pimec Turisme, the tourism sector branch of the Catalan association of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the entity, Catalan hotels hosted 2.89 million travelers in August alone, 5.6% more than the previous year. For the season as a whole, the increase was 2.7%.

According to Pimec's data, spending has been even more expansive than the number of visitors, with a total expenditure of 9.765 billion euros by international tourists between June and August. This is an increase of 8.9% in absolute terms, according to the association, and 4.9% per visitor.

However, the association has detected a different trend in the case of overnight stays: while during the summer of 2025 the hotel stay of visitors in the Principality was 3.05 nights, this year the figure has been cut to 2.98. In fact, despite the increase in the volume of hotel tourists, overnight stays grew by only 0.3% in the summer months, and if the focus is broadened to all accommodation options, they register a drop of 1.6%.

According to the president of Pimec Turisme, Carlos Rabaneda, the figures confirm "a trend towards vacations spread out into shorter getaways." In this sense, the association of small and medium-sized enterprises sets as its objective "to increase the length of the stay" of tourists, as well as the quality.

Demand, it must be said, has been driven by events such as the eclipse of August 12, which has contributed strongly to the revitalization of the sector in the Terres de l'Ebre, with an increase in hotel travelers of 8.7% year-on-year. Nevertheless, Barcelona (+10.1%) and the Costa Daurada (+9.9%) have concentrated most of the tourism expansion.