The Government estimates that between August 10 and 16, 446,000 additional visitors will arrive in Spain due to the total solar eclipse on August 12, which will represent an economic impact for the country quantified at a net contribution of 347.60 million euros, according to the Executive's communication.
These forecasts are included in the economic impact report prepared by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Business, presented this Tuesday at the Moncloa Complex during the coordination meeting for the Eclipse Trio, chaired by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez.
According to the Executive, this meeting aims to organize the necessary planning so that the three exceptional astronomical phenomena that Spain will experience between 2026 and 2028 develop with "maximum security guarantees," thanks to "effective coordination between administrations and citizen collaboration."
The Economy document details that the eclipse on August 12 will cause an increase of 446,700 tourists during that reference week (from August 10 to 16) in the 36 provinces located in the totality strip and in the nearby areas of influence. This extra flow of visitors will translate into an additional tourist spending of 342.19 million euros: 247.29 million from international tourists and 94.90 million from residents in Spain.
The study adds that 8.4% of the people planning to observe the eclipse expect to travel to a province different from their residence. An increase of 7.9% in scheduled airplane seats for the week of the eclipse compared to the same period in 2025 is also anticipated, as well as a 17.8% increase in hotel bookings for August 2026 compared to August 2025.
Despite this expected surge in demand, the report emphasizes that the area of influence of the eclipse has sufficient capacity to absorb it, with more than one million available places among hotels, tourist apartments, campsites, rural accommodations, and tourist-use homes.
In the meeting this Tuesday, 11 members of the Executive participated: the first vice president and minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Carlos Cuerpo; the third vice president and minister for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Sara Aagesen; the minister of Defense, Margarita Robles; and the minister of Finance, Arcadi España.
Also attended were the Minister of Education, Vocational Training and Sports, Milagros Tolón; the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu; the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas; the Minister of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory, Ángel Víctor Torres; the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun; the Minister of Health, Mónica García, and the Minister of Science, Innovation and Universities, Diana Morant.
In view of this event, the Government will launch a Special Security Plan and a Specific Civil Protection Plan for the solar eclipse on August 12, focused on emergency management, forest fire prevention, citizen security, mobility, and the response capacity of public services in the face of a massive influx of people.
In addition, the Executive has designated the Yebes Observatory (Guadalajara), the main astronomical observatory of the National Geographic Institute (IGN), as the official monitoring center for the total solar eclipse on August 12. From these facilities, the necessary resources will be made available so that national and international media can broadcast this historical phenomenon live.
"Internationally significant scientific event"
Furthermore, the Government approved this Tuesday, at the proposal of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, an "important" report from the Interministerial Commission for the Preparation, Organization, and Coordination of the Eclipse Trio, three major astronomical phenomena that will traverse Spain between 2026 and 2028.
This was announced at the press conference following the Council of Ministers by the Government spokesperson and Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, who highlighted that, "over the next three years, Spain will be able to witness a sectional sequence of three major eclipses that will cover a good part of the country, with three key dates: August 12, 2026, August 2, 2027, and January 26, 2028."
According to Saiz, this is "an internationally significant scientific event that will place and position" Spain "at the center of global astronomical observation and astrotourism," without forgetting that it also "poses a significant organizational challenge."
In this line, he has recalled that "the Government has been working for months in the Interministerial Commission that integrates 13 ministries and where the autonomous communities and cities, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), and other collaborating entities also participate," with the aim of "guaranteeing safety, mobility, and the best attention to the hundreds of thousands of people who are going to travel to witness this phenomenon."
As a result of that coordination, Saiz has pointed out that "it was agreed to create five working groups whose joint coordination has allowed for the design of a Special Security Plan, a Specific Civil Protection and Environmental Risks Plan, a Civil Protection and Environmental Risks Plan, and a Civil Protection and Environmental Risks Plan," as well as a mobility study to calculate extraordinary displacements and the associated tourist activity.
The spokesperson has also reiterated the public health recommendations. "I want to send a message of attention regarding the use of approved glasses to observe the eclipse and also protocols for health centers in case of possible eye injuries," he has indicated.
For all this, Saiz has concluded that "it will be an extraordinary occasion to once again show the best image of Spain as a country that bets on science, that plans, that cooperates, and knows how to take advantage of great events to generate opportunities."