Here's what the latest Travelgate data, shared with Hosteltur throughout June 2026, tells us.
Since late May, hotel booking data shared by Travelgate with Hosteltur has told a consistent story week after week: bookings to Spain are growing significantly year-on-year, and some regions keep accelerating.
Catalonia stands out the most: its growth has climbed steadily week after week, from +26% in late May to nearly +40% by late June. The Balearic Islands and the Basque Country also remain firmly in the top three throughout the month. On the other end, Galicia is the only region to stay in negative territory the whole period, and Andalusia only turned positive again in the very last week of June.
Why? Several outlets, including the BBC in early June, linked this to the conflict between the US and Iran in the Gulf, which lasted nearly four months, with the Strait of Hormuz blocked since early March and oil prices climbing to $88 a barrel in early June. The idea: some European travelers may have avoided destinations near the Middle East and shifted toward safer bets like Spain.
Worth taking with a grain of salt: a CaixaBank economist quoted by Hosteltur notes the effect cuts both ways — higher oil prices also squeeze Europeans' travel budgets. So the trend is real, but its exact cause is hard to pin down with certainty. On a positive note, a peace agreement between the two countries was announced on June 14 and signed on June 18, with oil prices back down to $76 by late June.
Another trend confirmed over the month: travelers are waiting longer to book. In late May, about 20% of bookings were made more than 90 days in advance. By late June, that had dropped to 15%. Meanwhile, last-minute bookings (within 30 days) rose from 49% to 52% in just the last week of June.
In short: the "book at the very last moment" habit keeps gaining ground — something many hoteliers are already seeing firsthand.
While Spain enjoys rising bookings, its own football fans are paying a premium to follow the national team at the World Cup, held from June 11 to July 19 across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
For the week of June 29–July 5, the average hotel rate in the US for Spanish travelers reaches $249, up from $168 a year earlier for the same period — a 48% increase. And many are booking at the very last minute: 37% of bookings were made less than 24 hours before arrival. Good news for latecomers: after late July, prices drop back below last year's levels.