87% stays in Spain: senior travel keeps money at home

Spanish travellers aged over 65 kept almost 87% of their travel budget in Spain in 2025, leaving 13% for trips abroad, CaixaBank Research has found. The study draws on anonymised, aggregated card payments and cash withdrawals and was published in Madrid on 14 September. It gives no separate figures for Mallorca.

The share spent abroad rises to 17.4% among middle-aged travellers and 24.2% for people aged 16 to 29. Over-65s account for 21.1% of Spain’s population and have annual net income 16.2% above the national average, yet make up 15.6% of Spaniards’ overall tourism spending.

Less pressure in July and August

Older travellers put 22.1% of their summer travel budget into July and August, compared with 24.6% among other Spaniards. CaixaBank Research says that flexibility can help spread tourism demand beyond the busiest months.

Their relative spending share is above 20% in Soria, Zaragoza and Teruel. In Tenerife, over-65s account for 20.4% of tourism spending.

More for agents, hotels and cash

Travel agents receive 6.5% of the over-65s’ travel budget, nearly twice the 3.3% spent by younger travellers. Hotels also take a larger share of their spending, while less goes to restaurants.

Cash withdrawals make up 37% of older travellers’ tourism spending, against 26.3% among younger groups. Average annual spending per traveller peaks at almost 1,500 euros between ages 48 and 54, then falls to about 800 euros from age 80.

The report cites National Statistics Institute projections showing that more than 30.5% of Spain’s population will be over 65 by 2055.

Topics: Sea & coast · Tourism · Economy

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com