Customs conflict brakes Spain's tourism: Boom comes to an end!

Customs conflict brakes Spain's tourism: Boom comes to an end!

Spanien - Spain's tourism industry faces challenging times because a noticeable cooling is expected for the summer business. After a boom has been recorded for years, current developments show that uncertainties are burdening the industry through a customs conflict with the United States. This reports n-tv .

The assessments of the Excelur industry association are alarming. For the third quarter of 2025, only sales growth of 2.7 percent of hotels, airlines and gastronomy is forecast. In the same period last year, growth was still 6.3 percent, and in the second quarter of 2025 it was 4.5 percent. Oscar Perelli, the Vice President of Exceltur, explains that the expectations for the year have been corrected downwards.

decline in arrivals from central markets

The estimate that the number of visitors from Germany and France could decrease. In contrast to the arrivals from Great Britain, the USA, Japan and China, which are supposed to increase, this is slower than in previous years. Travel flows are changing, because more and more Europeans are opting for trips within Europe, while Asians are looking for alternatives to the USA.

The growth forecast for the entire industry was reduced to 3.3 percent after 4 percent were originally expected. The tourism sector is expected to grow stronger than the Spanish overall economy, which is aiming for growth of 2.4 percent. According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, a record number of 100 million visitors in Spain is expected for 2025. Tourism is said to contribute around 13.2 percent to the gross domestic product of the country.

over -tourism and protests

Despite these positive prospects, Spain is confronted with the challenge of over -tourism. More and more tourists are visiting the country, which has both positive and negative effects. As SPIEGEL , there are increasing protests against overcrowding popular destinations. These voices require a rethink in tourism policy to protect the needs of residents and the environment.

The tourism sector in Spain is therefore at a turning point. The economic expectations are still positive despite the challenges, but the social and ecological aspects are becoming increasingly important. Finding a balance between tourism growth and quality of life of the local population will be one of the central tasks of the next few years.