Alicante's foreign tourism income surges to €1.882 billion in the first quarter

Benidorm posts its strongest start to the year yet, while the province now accounts for 66% of all spending in the Valencian Community

Alicante’s foreign tourism earnings have doubled over the past decade, reaching €1.882 billion in the first quarter of this year. The figures also show Benidorm enjoying its best start to the year on record, with €415 million in foreign visitor spending, while the province has strengthened its share of tourism income across the Valencian Community.

The data comes from the Tourist Expenditure Survey, known as Egatur, which is published monthly by Spain’s National Statistics Institute. It is one of the clearest ways of measuring how well tourism promotion is working and what kind of visitors are coming to the region.

Across the Valencian Community, tourism spending reached €2.872 billion in the first quarter. Of that total, Alicante took the lion’s share and now represents 66% of the region’s income, up from 63% in the same period in 2014, when Easter also fell in April. That shift shows just how much weight the province now carries in the wider regional picture.

Benidorm continues to stand out as one of the province’s strongest performers. Over the last three years, it has shown impressive stability, with spending figures of €405 million in 2024, €393 million in 2025 and €415 million so far this year. The city has now posted its best first-quarter figure, even without the benefit of Easter this year, which makes the result even more notable.

Behind that performance are several familiar factors. The steady supply of hotel beds open during these months, average room prices, and the continued improvement of the hotel sector all play a part. Alicante-Elche Airport also remains a major driver, with its reach extending across both Alicante and Valencia provinces.

When it comes to foreign tourism, British visitors remain especially important, along with the region’s push to reduce seasonality and spread demand more evenly through the year.

March also brought strong figures for the wider region. Foreign tourist spending in the Valencian Community reached €1.188 billion that month, a 6.7% rise year on year, while the region welcomed 932,199 international visitors. Both numbers were the best ever recorded for a March, underlining the strength of the sector.

At national level, Spain’s total tourism spending hit €9.606 billion in March, with the Valencian Community accounting for 12% of that total.

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