American tourists in Andalucia pass 500,000 as the region targets more direct US flights

American tourists in Andalucia crossed a symbolic threshold in 2025, with around half a million visitors choosing the region. That´s roughly 10% more than the year before.

The figure was highlighted by the region’s tourism minister, Arturo Bernal

, in a post on X after attending Avance Global, a networking event in Fuengirola with US business leaders and professionals. In the same message, he framed the United States as a strategic partner and said Andalucia is consolidating itself as a destination not only for tourism, but also for investment.

The minister’s comments also featured in broader coverage of Avance Global, which brought together more than 200 attendees in Fuengirola, focused on transatlantic business links.

Behind the headline number sits a bigger shift. US travel to Spain has been rising for years, and regions like Andalucia are increasingly competing for visitors who arrive outside the busiest summer weeks — and who typically spend more while they’re here.

Why American tourists are choosing Spain in record numbers

A top-three market for the Costa del Sol — despite limited air links

Bernal argues the United States is now the third-largest international market for the Costa del Sol, behind the UK and Germany.

What makes that claim eye-catching is how thin the direct air bridge remains. The best-known connection is the Málaga–New York/Newark service, which is generally promoted as a summer route, rather than a year-round fixture.

In reporting by Europa Press, Bernal said the Junta wants to consolidate the New York connection and open new direct routes to the United States, describing Andalucia as an “attractive, reliable and competitive” destination for the American market.

That matters because connectivity shapes behaviour. More direct routes tend to mean more short-break travel, more conference and incentive trips, and more visitors who are willing to move beyond the coast into cities and inland areas.

Why the US market matters: it’s not just volume, it’s value

There’s a reason Spanish destinations keep talking about American visitors. Even when they represent a smaller share of total arrivals than Europeans, long-haul travellers are often linked to stronger overall tourism receipts.

At national level, Spain continues to post record numbers. The INE’s FRONTUR data shows 93.8 million international tourists visited Spain in 2024, a new all-time high at the time.

Then 2025 went further still. Spain received 97 million foreign tourists in 2025, according to reporting citing the tourism ministry, alongside another rise in total visitor spending.

For the Costa del Sol and Andalucia more broadly, the challenge now is to ensure that growth translates into better outcomes: steadier employment, less seasonal whiplash for businesses, and a model that doesn’t depend on the same few hotspots absorbing ever more people.

Branding Andalucia for North America

The push for the US market isn’t only about flight routes. It’s also about positioning, and about getting Andalucia onto the “long-haul shortlist” for travellers who plan further ahead and typically spend more while they’re here.

One of the biggest levers has been the Junta’s international marketing under the Andalusian Crush

banner, followed by Surrender to the Andalusian Crush. The campaigns have been aimed at lifting Andalucia’s profile in priority markets, including North America, and pitching the region as culture-led and year-round rather than a summer bolt-on to the coast.

A campaign slogan won’t solve the hard problems of modern tourism. But it does signal intent: to attract visitors who travel beyond peak season, move beyond the beach, and leave a stronger footprint in local businesses across the region.

Tourism, trade and a wider US relationship

Bernal also presented the US relationship as broader than holidays.

In the same Europa Press coverage, he noted that in 2024 the United States received more than €3.1 billion in goods exported from Andalucia, making it the region’s f

ifth-largest export market, and its biggest outside the EU.

That economic thread matters because it reinforces the logic of better connectivity. More business ties tend to generate more travel — and more travel tends to strengthen business ties.

A test for 2026: can growth feel worth it beyond the coast?

One of the most meaningful questions for Andalucia’s tourism strategy isn’t whether the US market will grow. It’s whether the benefits can be felt beyond the same coastal strips.

If the region can use US demand to support shoulder-season travel, strengthen city breaks, and steer visitors toward inland routes that are ready for them, the “half a million” headline becomes more than a number. It becomes a lever for a more resilient model, one that feels less like boom-and-bust summer tourism, and more like a year-round economy.