Record First Quarter for British Tourism in Lanzarote with More Than 400,000 Arrivals

Lanzarote recorded its highest-ever number of British visitors during the first quarter of 2026, with 400,431 travellers arriving from UK airports between January and March, according to data reported by La Voz.

The figure marks a significant increase on previous years. Compared with the first quarter of 2025, arrivals from the UK rose by around 30,000 visitors, up from just under 370,000. The growth is even more striking when compared with the same period in 2019, before the pandemic, when almost 298,000 British tourists visited the island.

The record-breaking performance comes despite a slowdown in April and concerns within the tourism sector about demand from the UK for the months ahead. Industry forecasts suggest bookings from Britain could fall below last year’s levels.

While Spanish travel agencies report that many European holidaymakers continue to favour Spain over destinations in the Middle East due to security concerns, tourism businesses in Lanzarote are worried that higher fuel costs are increasing airfares, potentially affecting future bookings.

Germany also saw growth during the first quarter. Arrivals from German airports reached around 75,000, up from 68,000 during the same period in 2025. However, the total remains below pre-pandemic levels, as more than 82,000 German travellers visited Lanzarote between January and March 2019.

In contrast, visitor numbers from mainland Spain declined. Just over 47,000 domestic travellers arrived during the first three months of 2026, compared with more than 52,000 a year earlier. The 2025 figure was broadly in line with the level recorded in the first quarter of 2019.

Tourists from other international markets also contributed to overall growth. Although ISTAC does not provide a detailed breakdown of these nationalities, arrivals in this category increased by approximately 10,000 year-on-year, reaching around 256,000 visitors compared with 246,000 in the first quarter of 2025. In the same period of 2019, the figure stood at just under 200,000.