The tourism figures for the first quarter of 2026 in Gran Canaria highlight an alarming contraction in local markets, overshadowing the growth of the international segment. Arrivals of Canary Island residents have plummeted by 12,1% compared to the same period last year, a drop that is even more pronounced in overnight stays, with a critical decline of 16,1%. This negative trend extends to the Spanish mainland market, which has seen an 8,1% decrease in the number of visitors and a loss of more than 10% in hotel and other accommodation stays.
The island's non-hotel accommodation sector presents the most worrying indicators in the report. Total overnight stays in this segment have fallen by 4,2%, dragged down by a 25,9% drop in stays by Canary Island travelers. The international market in the non-hotel sector is also struggling to keep pace, with a 3,6% reduction in overnight stays, representing a net loss of more than 79.000 overnight stays in just three months for this type of accommodation.
The average length of stay, a key metric for the destination's profitability, shows signs of structural weakness across all segments. Canary Island tourists have reduced their average stay by 16,1%, now averaging just 3,2 days. This decline is particularly severe in the non-hotel sector, where it has fallen by 0,5 percentage points overall, impacted by the contraction in the international market and a reduction of one full day in the stay of Canary Island residents.
In the analysis of domestic markets, the slowdown in consumption is evident. The flow of travelers from mainland Spain has reduced the island's total number of visitors by 5.667 at the start of the year. This decline in domestic and local tourism creates a gap in occupancy rates that the slight 3,4% increase in the international market fails to offset in terms of total overnight stays, which end the quarter in negative territory with a 0,4% drop.
