The Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) published preliminary results on occupancy in non-hotel accommodation in Spain on 1 October 2026. They show that overnight stays in August 2026 were down 1.2 per cent overall on the same month a year earlier. The fall mainly affected holiday apartments, campsites and hostels, while rural tourism grew.
By type of accommodation, overnight stays fell by 1.7 per cent in holiday apartments, 0.4 per cent at campsites and 14.3 per cent in hostels. In the rural tourism segment, the INE recorded a rise of 2.7 per cent. Overnight stays by domestic travellers fell by 2.8 per cent overall, while those by visitors from abroad rose by 0.8 per cent. The average stay in August was 4.6 nights per traveller.
In holiday apartments, demand from domestic visitors fell more sharply (down 4.6 per cent), while visitors from abroad recorded a slight increase of 0.5 per cent. Average occupancy of holiday apartments on offer was 58.5 per cent for the month; at weekends it reached 59.4 per cent. At campsites, the INE recorded a fall of 0.7 per cent among domestic visitors and a rise of 0.4 per cent among visitors from abroad. Pitches occupied in August reached 62.1 per cent. In rural tourism, overnight stays by international visitors rose sharply by 12.1 per cent, while those by domestic visitors edged down by 0.9 per cent.
Price indices recorded some sharp rises in August. The Índice de Precios de Apartamentos Turísticos (IPAP) was 5.8 per cent above its August 2025 level. The Índice de Precios de Campings (IPAC) rose by 5.1 per cent, while the Índice de Precios de Alojamientos de Turismo Rural (IPTR) rose by 3.2 per cent. These changes point to continued upward pressure on prices in non-hotel accommodation, despite the overall weaker trend in overnight stays.
The INE describes the figures as preliminary; revisions may be made in future releases. The statistics follow European quality standards and include detailed breakdowns by Autonomous Community, province, tourism area and destination. The release forms part of the monthly surveys on occupancy in non-hotel accommodation and serves as a reference for policymakers, the industry and researchers tracking short-term trends in Spanish tourism.
Editor: Daniel Mayer (Article created with AI assistance).