Spain accounts for 43% of all travel bookings for the month of September and places ten national destinations among the fifteen most requested, according to data from eDreams. The figures reflect the pull of nearby getaways, short stays, and early planning during this transitional period between summer and the return to routine.
Short-distance trips represent 64% of the bookings made from Spain for September, while medium-distance journeys account for 27% and long-distance trips remain at 9%, the same level as in 2025.
Spain remains, by a wide margin, the preferred country for travel in September, with the aforementioned 43% of total bookings. Italy follows at a considerable distance, with 11%; France, with 6%; and the United Kingdom and Portugal, both with 4%.
The boost in domestic tourism is also evident in the list of most booked destinations. Tenerife leads the ranking, followed by Rome and Paris. Next are Palma de Mallorca, Madrid, Ibiza, and Gran Canaria.
The mix of islands and large cities highlights a diverse demand, combining island getaways with urban plans and trips that are easy to fit into a calendar marked by the gradual return to routine.
However, although nearby destinations dominate in volume, the largest year-on-year increases are concentrated in America and Europe. Lima tops the increases, with 148%, ahead of Madrid, with 115%, and Palermo, with 110%. New York also stands out, with a 70% rise, and Oviedo, with 63%.
56% of bookings are concentrated in the first half of the month
More than half of the trips in September take place at the beginning of the month. The first two weeks account for 56% of bookings, compared to 54% recorded in 2025.
In detail, the week starting on August 30 accounts for 28% of bookings, the same weight as the week of September 6. From that point on, the proportion drops to 22% in the week of September 13, 18% in the week of the 20th, and 5% in the last days of the month.
This gradual decline as September progresses points to a preference for taking advantage of the first days of the month, before work and academic routines fully set in.
85% of travelers book more than two months in advance
Far from being last-minute decisions, September trips are booked well in advance. 85% of travelers formalize their booking with 61 days or more in advance.
Specifically, 46% buy between 61 and 90 days before departure and 39% do so more than 90 days in advance. These percentages are identical to those of 2025, indicating that early planning has consolidated among those who choose September to travel.
At the same time, the duration of getaways remains contained. Stays of three or four days are the most frequent and account for 39% of the total. If we add trips of five or six days, which represent 18%, 57% of the bookings correspond to stays of between three and six days.
Trips of seven to thirteen days concentrate 20%, while two-day getaways reach 16%, one point more than in 2025.
The combination of planning ahead and short stays shapes a traveler who prefers to have a getaway planned in advance that fits a tighter schedule.
Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia dominate train travel
In the case of trains, Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia occupy the top three positions among the destinations with the most bookings. They are followed by Alicante, Málaga, and Sevilla, while Córdoba, Santiago de Compostela, Zaragoza, and Granada complete the top ten.
The joint presence of large metropolitan areas and smaller cities shows that the train adapts to very varied domestic getaways and not just to routes between the main capitals.
France, main international sender to Spain
Foreign tourism introduces the international component in a context dominated by domestic travel. France is the main country of origin and accounts for 29% of bookings to Spain, followed by Germany, with 16%, and Italy, with 11%.
Together, these three countries make up 56% of all bookings to Spain.
Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Madrid are the most demanded Spanish cities by international travelers, ahead of Málaga, Ibiza, and Alicante.
The combination of large cities, islands, and coastal enclaves reflects a diversified demand and an attraction capacity that is not limited to a single type of destination.
Overall, eDreams data depicts a traveler looking to extend the holiday season without straying too far or improvising, betting on nearby destinations, short stays, and bookings made well in advance.
At the same time, the strong increases in destinations such as Lima or New York show that the interest in longer international trips remains, despite the dominance of nearby getaways.
The figures come from internal searches conducted on the eDreams platforms from Spain between May 1 and July 20, 2026, for trips between September 1 and September 30, 2026, and are compared with data from the same period in 2025.