Tourists in Gran Canaria
Monthly tourist arrivals in Gran Canaria according to ISTAC and the FRONTUR survey. Main tourists — inter-island movements excluded.
Monthly arrivals in Gran Canaria
Source: ISTAC · Dataset E16028B_000011 · Main tourists (excludes inter-island)
Analysis: Tourism in Gran Canaria
Gran Canaria is the second most visited Canary Island and shows a clearly winter-peaked seasonality: the months from November to March consistently outperform the summer months. In August 2026, Gran Canaria received 375,269 tourists, 4.5% above the same month of 2025. That figure represents 23.9% of the 1,566,954 arrivals recorded across the Canary Islands that month.
The best month in the available series is March 2026, with 478,000 arrivals. So far in 2026 (January–August), Gran Canaria totals 3,131,178 tourists. In 2025, Gran Canaria received 4,729,000 tourists over the full year.
ISTAC's island-level breakdown for Gran Canaria is available from April 2024. The series is updated every month with each FRONTUR release; the latest data point is August 2026.
High and low season in Gran Canaria
Across the available ISTAC series, winter months (November–March) average 457,600 tourists per month in Gran Canaria, against 336,473 in the summer months (June–September): 36.0% above. The strongest month in the series is March 2026 (478,000 arrivals) and the weakest is June 2024 (297,226).
| Period | Monthly average |
|---|---|
| Winter (Nov–Mar) | 457,600 |
| Summer (Jun–Sep) | 336,473 |
If you are looking for fewer crowds, the quieter months are those below that average; if you want the season with the widest choice and air connectivity, winter concentrates peak demand.
Airports, resort areas and source markets in Gran Canaria
| Airport | Passengers 2025 | Year-on-year |
|---|---|---|
| Gran Canaria (LPA) | 15,826,553 | +4.0% |
Source: Aena, 2025 year-end. Counts total passengers (arrivals and departures, domestic and international) — a different metric from ISTAC's tourist arrivals.
Tourism concentrates in the south: Maspalomas, Playa del Inglés and Puerto Rico, in the municipality of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, alongside Mogán. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria adds year-round urban and business tourism.
Gran Canaria depends notably on the German and Nordic markets (Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland), which travel mainly in winter, alongside the United Kingdom. That mix explains much of its winter-peaked profile.
To put visitor pressure in context: Gran Canaria has 875,205 residents (register as of 1 January 2025) and received around 4,729,000 tourists in 2025 — about 5.4 tourists per resident per year.
Note: annual per-island totals combine exact ISTAC figures with rounded estimates for the months where the source publishes only each island's percentage share.
Frequently asked questions
How many tourists visited Gran Canaria in August 2026?
Gran Canaria received 375,269 tourists in August 2026, 4.5% more than in August 2025.
How many tourists has Gran Canaria received in 2026?
Between January and August 2026, Gran Canaria totals 3,131,178 tourist arrivals according to ISTAC.
How important is Gran Canaria for Canary Islands tourism?
In August 2026, Gran Canaria concentrated 23.9% of all tourist arrivals to the Canary Islands, making it the second-largest island by volume among those with their own breakdown.
Where does this data come from?
These are official statistics from ISTAC (Instituto Canario de Estadística), FRONTUR operation, dataset E16028B_000011. The metric counts main tourists and excludes inter-island trips. Updated monthly.
When is the high season in Gran Canaria?
Winter. Between November and March, Gran Canaria averages 457,600 tourists per month, 36.0% more than the June-to-September average (336,473). The busiest month in the series is March 2026 and the quietest is June 2024.
More on tourism in Gran Canaria
Other islands
Data source
ISTAC — Instituto Canario de Estadística
FRONTUR — Estadística de Movimientos Turísticos en Fronteras