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Madrid has overtaken Alicante as the biggest source of domestic tourists to the Region of Murcia, ending a five-year run at the top for the neighbouring province, according to new figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE).

 

The data, which covers April 2026 and captures Holy Week alongside Murcia's popular Spring Festivals, shows that around 283,000 travellers from other parts of Spain visited the Region during the month, virtually the same figure as April 2025, with a marginal increase of just 0.5%.

 

Madrid led the way this year with 68,598 visitors, up 3.1% on the previous year. Alicante, which had topped the rankings every year since 2019 with the exception of a tie in 2023, slipped to second place with 58,300 visitors, a 0.6% drop.

 

Valencia came third with 26,506 tourists, also down slightly at 1.1%.

 

The two other neighbouring provinces, Almería with 19,536 visitors and Albacete with 15,862, both also saw declines of 6% and 2.9% respectively, suggesting that while proximity remains a major factor in driving visitor numbers, the flow from surrounding areas is easing.

 

Barcelona ranked sixth with 14,627 visitors despite one of the steeper year-on-year drops at 5.3%. The rest of the top ten was made up of Granada, Málaga, Toledo and Seville, with Toledo and Seville both bucking the general downward trend by posting increases of 6.3% and 5.2% respectively. Tourists from northern Spain as a whole grew by 4.9%, with only Cantabria and Galicia recording falls.

 

One notable trend in the figures is a reduction in how long visitors are actually staying. The average length of stay for domestic tourists dropped from 4.6 nights to 4.2, a fall of 8.7%.

 

The INE compiles its tourism statistics using mobile phone geolocation data, which captures overnight stays regardless of the type of accommodation used, meaning second homes, friends' houses and even caravans are all included in the count, not just hotels and tourist apartments.

 

The figures also shed light on where Murcianos themselves are going. Alicante remains the most popular destination for residents of the Region travelling elsewhere, with 81,000 staying overnight there, although second home ownership in the province accounts for a significant portion of that figure.

 

Madrid was next with 44,400, followed by Almería, Albacete, Granada and Valencia. Seville and Barcelona both saw notable increases in Murcian visitors, up 22.4% and 11.4% respectively.

 

In total, 355,500 Murcia residents stayed overnight in other Spanish provinces during April, 1.2% more than the previous year, leaving the Region with a net outflow of more than 72,000 tourists compared to the rest of Spain. A further 69,287 residents travelled abroad, with France the most popular destination at 24,392 travellers, ahead of Italy, the United Kingdom and Portugal.

 

Image: Turismo Region de Murcia