Sectoral analysis

International tourism spending accelerated slightly in March 2026, driven by the redirection towards Spain of tourist flows from the main European source countries. This upturn offset the decline in tourism from East Asia, which, although intense, represents only a small portion of tourist arrivals in Spain.

This article confirms, through the use of anonymised high-frequency internal data, how the interest rate hikes and cuts between 2022 and 2025 have affected Spaniards’ consumption. The results show that the monetary policy of the last cycle has clearly influenced household consumption in Spain, albeit with moderate intensity, and that interest rate cuts have had a tangible impact in boosting spending among households with variable-rate mortgages.