Spain is heading for another record summer in tourism, but the benefits are not reaching many households. New data shows about one in three people living in the country cannot afford a week away from home.
Spain is expected to welcome about 43 million international tourists between June and September, according to forecasts from Turespaña, the agency under the Ministry of Industry and Tourism. That would be a 6% rise on the same period in 2025, while visitor spending is projected to reach about 64 billion euros.
Yet the National Statistics Institute’s 2025 Living Conditions Survey found that 32.2% of the population could not afford at least one week’s holiday away from home during the year. Although that was 1.2 percentage points lower than in 2024, travel remains out of reach for a large share of Spanish households.
The gap between record tourism figures and household finances reflects the pressure of rising living costs across Spain. Ileana Izverniceanu, communications director of the Consumers and Users Organisation, or OCU, said the issue was not just about travel becoming more expensive, but about a wider economic reality that has been building for years.
“This summer, one in three Spaniards being unable to go on holiday is not an isolated event, it reflects the economic reality the OCU has been observing for years,” said Ileana Izverniceanu, Communications Director at the Consumers and Users Organisation.
OCU’s holiday survey found that 27% of Spaniards said they would not go on holiday this year, while 8% did not yet know whether they could afford it. Izverniceanu said that was a clear sign of the financial uncertainty many families were living with.
The organisation’s family payment capacity index, which measures household finances each year, improved slightly to 47.4 points, but it remains well below pre-pandemic levels. “The economy is improving on paper, but many families still cannot feel that recovery in their daily lives,” said an OCU spokesperson in comments to Euronews.
Housing, food and utility bills continue to take up a large share of household income. According to OCU data shared with Euronews, 45% of families struggle to cover housing-related costs, including rent, mortgages and bills for electricity, gas and water.
The situation is even harder for tenants. Nearly half of renters said they had difficulty paying their rent. Food costs also remain under pressure, with 42% of households struggling to buy basic items such as meat and fish.
Other everyday expenses add to the strain. OCU said 48% of families have difficulty covering car-related costs, 46% struggle with dental bills and 36% have trouble paying energy bills.
“Given this situation, it is no surprise that holidays have become one of the first items families cut from their budgets,” commented Ileana Izverniceanu.
OCU said 52% of households find holiday costs difficult or very difficult to afford. For those who do travel, many are changing their plans, cutting the length of their stay, choosing closer destinations, looking for cheaper accommodation or reducing spending on entertainment.
According to the survey, the average cost of a seaside holiday for a family is 1,555 euros, while a trip abroad costs 2,327 euros. Even spending a few days away averages 665 euros, which OCU said is beyond the reach of many households.
Economic pressure is not limited to holidays. The Living Conditions Survey found that 36.4% of the population could not cover unexpected expenses in 2025, up from 35.8% a year earlier. It also found that 8.5% said they could only make ends meet with “great difficulty”.
The share of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion fell slightly to 25.7% in 2025, down 0.1 percentage points from the previous year. Severe material and social deprivation also eased marginally, from 8.3% to 8.1%.
Those figures stand alongside a strong outlook for international tourism. In addition to the expected 43 million visitors this summer, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism expects foreign visitor spending to rise by 10% compared with the same period in 2025, outpacing growth in arrivals.
OCU says holidays should not be treated as a luxury. Izverniceanu said they should be seen as part of physical and mental wellbeing, as well as family harmony.
“Holidays should be seen not as a luxury, but as an important part of physical and mental wellbeing and family harmony,” added Ileana Izverniceanu.
The group is calling for measures to ease living costs, especially in housing, energy and food. It also advises travellers to plan ahead, compare prices, check contract terms and use secure platforms and payment systems.
But OCU says those tips are of limited use for households that are already struggling to cover basic needs. “We must not lose sight of the reality, for an increasing number of families the problem is no longer finding a cheaper holiday, it is being able to afford any holiday at all,” said Ileana Izverniceanu.
