Catalan hotels welcome 1.16 million guests in record January

Catalan hotels recorded their best January in 2026, accommodating 1,162,644 travellers, a 9% increase compared with the same month in 2025, according to provisional data from Spain's National Statistics Institute (INE).

Overnight stays also set a new January record, rising by 8.09 % to 2,589,074. 

Of these, 1.73 million were registered by foreign visitors, while nearly 842,000 corresponded to domestic travellers. 

The figures continue the strong trend from 2025, except for a small drop in March slightly down from 2024.

Hotels in Catalonia have posted monthly records for ten months in a row, starting in April 2025 when close to 1.97 million travellers were recorded.

The average stay per traveller in January was 2.21 days, slightly below the 2.23 days seen a year ago. 

Visitors stayed longest in the Lleida region, with an average of 2.46 days, followed by Barcelona at 2.28 days. 

Shorter stays were registered in Girona (1.82 days) and Tarragona (1.63 days).

By region, Tarragona led growth in visitor numbers with a 22.06 % increase to 58,923, followed by Barcelona with an 11.03 % rise to 882,804. 

Girona and Lleida recorded small declines, falling by 0.29 % and 2.14 %, respectively.

Overnight stays varied across the provinces, with Tarragona up 22.33% and Barcelona up 9.79%, while Girona and Lleida saw slight decreases.

Catalonia remained Spain's second most popular destination for international visitors, behind the Canary Islands. 

Domestic travellers chose Andalusia, Madrid, and Barcelona as their top destinations.

The Catalan capital was also one of the main choices for international visitors, alongside Madrid and Granada.