This statistic shows the annual number of international tourists visiting the Canary Islands from 2001 to 2017. A total of 14.2 million international tourists visited the Canary Islands in 2017.
The Canary Islands, or the Canaries, are a group of islands off the Northwestern coast of Africa and one of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities. The main islands in the archipelago are made up of Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro. The most visited island is Tenerife, followed by Gran Canaria and Lanzerote, all popular vacation travel destinations, especially for European holidaymakers.
Of Spain’s autonomous communities, the Canaries are one of the most visited Spanish regions after Catalonia. The UK and Germany are two key visitor markets for the islands. Along with France they make up the three leading international tourist markets visiting Spain. Spanish residents also commonly visit the islands for domestic trips.
As with arrivals of international visitors, international tourism expenditure has also been increasing in recent years. In 2016 inbound tourism spending in the Canary Islands reached approximately 15.1 billion euros, demonstrating the importance of the tourism industry to the local economy.
