Spain unveils tourism plan to put lesser-known destinations on the map

Spain wants international visitors to discover more of the country beyond its familiar holiday hotspots. A new tourism plan will promote lesser-known destinations, inland areas and different reasons to return, with the aim of spreading the benefits of tourism more widely throughout the year.

Turespaña, Spain’s national tourism agency, presented its 2026–2028 action plan in Zaragoza on October 22. The strategy sets out how international marketing will support the country’s broader Spain Tourism 2030 objectives.

For regular visitors and foreign residents looking for their next Spanish break, the focus could bring more attention to places beyond the usual holiday itineraries.

Which destinations does Spain want visitors to discover?

The plan prioritises what Turespaña calls destinations still to be discovered. These include Green Spain, inland territories and less-explored areas within regions that already welcome large numbers of tourists.

The agency highlights a significant imbalance. In 2025, autonomous communities outside Spain’s traditional main tourist destinations received just 12.7 per cent of international arrivals, despite accounting for almost a third of the country’s population.

Campaigns including Spain is Much More will support efforts to broaden the country’s international image, giving greater visibility to its cultural, natural and gastronomic attractions.

The official plan website offers examples of the experiences this approach could highlight: exploring Romanesque churches in northern Spain, discovering Aranjuez during a return visit to Madrid, or getting to know Valencia through its markets and food.

These are illustrations of the marketing approach, rather than newly announced bookable tours. They show how familiar destinations can also become starting points for a different kind of trip.

More reasons to travel outside the summer season

Established holiday destinations also feature in the strategy. Turespaña wants to refresh their appeal and encourage visits during quieter months, with premium tourism, gastronomy and business events among its priorities.

The ambition is to attract travel that generates greater economic and social value while distributing activity more evenly across the calendar.

That fits into a wider discussion about whether Spain’s holiday season is getting longer. Recent tourism employment figures covered by EWN showed jobs holding firm beyond August, although employment alone cannot establish how long individual businesses remain open.

How will lesser-known places gain visibility?

Part of the strategy concerns how travellers find inspiration online. Turespaña plans to examine how Spanish destinations appear in artificial intelligence recommendations and develop multilingual content that these systems can interpret.

For places with little international recognition, appearing in travel suggestions could provide another way to reach potential visitors.

The plan contains five objectives and nine programmes, with annual operational plans intended to define measures, budgets and indicators for assessing progress.

For now, this is a strategy for tourism promotion. Its success will depend on whether greater visibility translates into bookings and benefits for the communities Spain wants more travellers to discover.