The turnover of travel agencies and tour operators in Spain advanced 7.6% in January 2026 compared to the same month of the previous year, which means leaving behind the strong double-digit increases recorded at the beginning of 2025 (+14.4%) and 2024 (+13.7%), according to the latest data from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
The exercise has started with ups and downs after the railway accident in Adamuz (Córdoba), which caused the closure for almost a month of the high-speed line between Madrid and Andalusia, coupled with an intense storm of low-pressure systems, factors that resulted in numerous cancellations.
In a recent survey by the Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV), companies in the sector indicated that they face 2026 with "moderate optimism": 27.6% foresee that turnover will improve, 14.2% estimate that it will decrease, and 58.1% believe that it will remain unchanged.
Holy Week
Facing this Holy Week, the employers' association highlights the good performance of advance sales, with increases ranging between 5% and 10%. For its part, the National Union of Travel Agencies (UNAV) has emphasized profitability, recalling that the most complex and longer-distance trips, which constitute a key part of their activity, are precisely those that are slowing down the most due to the conflict in the Middle East.
In relation to the situation in the Asian region, CEAV has indicated that during the first week of March a drop in demand was registered, with a special impact on long-haul destinations and, in particular, on those linked with Asia.
In 2025, the sector closed the year with a 3.3% increase in sales, that is, four percentage points less than the 7.3% recorded in the previous year. This growth also fell below pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels, when these tourism companies achieved increases of 5.7% in 2019 and 4.6% in 2018.