Tourism in the Canary Islands continues to thrive, closing the year with record-breaking numbers. According to the Tourist Movement Statistics at Borders by the Canary Islands Institute of Statistics (ISTAC), 1.67 million tourists visited the archipelago in December, bringing the total for the year to 17.77 million visitors.
This represents a 6.67% increase compared to December 2023, with 104,648 more tourists. Out of every 10 visitors, 9 came from abroad, a sector that grew by 7% year-on-year. Domestic tourism also saw an increase, albeit smaller, with a 3% rise in visitors from mainland Spain.
United Kingdom Remains the Top Source Market
The United Kingdom remains the leading country of origin for tourists in the Canary Islands. In December, 31.8% (532,714 tourists) came from the UK. Germany and mainland Spain were also key contributors, accounting for 19% and 7.8% of total visitors, respectively.
Tenerife, the Most Visited Island
Regarding the distribution of tourists among the islands, Tenerife was the most visited, welcoming 679,244 tourists, which represents 4 out of every 10 visitors. It was followed by Gran Canaria (27.6%) and Lanzarote (17%).
Length of Stay and Travel Purpose
The majority of tourists (64.6%) stayed between 1 and 7 nights, while a small 2.4% enjoyed stays longer than 31 days. As expected, leisure and holidays were the main reasons for travel.
Package Tours and Preferred Accommodation
Nearly half of the tourists (49.6%) chose package tours, which include both transportation and accommodation at a single price. When it comes to lodging, hotels and apartments remained the top choices, accommodating 78% of visitors.
With these impressive figures, the Canary Islands reinforce their position as one of Europe’s top tourist destinations, setting high expectations for 2025.
Source: ISTAC