Official data. The tourism sector in southern Gran Canaria faces a worrying outlook in the third quarter of 2026, marked by a severe crisis in the apartment segment and stagnant expectations in the hotel sector. Although overall occupancy levels remain respectable, year-on-year data reveals a clear shift towards sluggishness and pessimism, especially during the peak summer months.
The tourist apartment segment presents the most bleak outlook. Forecasts for July, August, and September 2026 confirm a widespread decline in occupancy compared to the same period of the previous year. The data speaks for itself: a decrease of 1,36% is expected in July and almost 4% in August (specifically 3,97%), placing occupancy rates at 62,33% and 63,78%, respectively.
Only September shows a slight increase of 0,75%. Most alarmingly, compared to the archipelago average, Gran Canaria will have lower occupancy levels than the Canary Islands average for the next three months in this type of accommodation. This pessimism extends to business expectations regarding tourist arrivals: the only market that remains optimistic is the domestic market (with a balance of 37,68%), while for the other markets (British and the rest of Europe) a decrease in tourists is expected, with a deepening of pessimism in the British market compared to last year.
In the case of hotels, the situation is relatively stable in terms of occupancy figures, although business expectations are showing signs of weakness. Expected rates for the quarter are high and stable, hovering around 77% in July and August, and 74% in September. Year-on-year variations are minimal and insignificant, ranging from a slight decrease in July (-0,26%) to slight increases in August (0,06%) and September (0,88%).
Despite this apparent calm in the absolute numbers, which remain above the Canary Islands average, the balance of expectations regarding the evolution of tourist arrivals reveals a cooling of optimism. Although positive expectations are reported for the domestic (43,97), British (28,43), and rest of Europe (2,54) markets, these figures are, in general, worse than those reported for the same quarter of 2025. The case of the domestic market is particularly striking: the balance of expectations goes from being very negative in 2025 (-16,34) to positive in 2026 (43,97), but with a year-on-year drop of more than 60 points, indicating that, although the sector believes more domestic tourists will come, enthusiasm for this market has deflated considerably compared to the previous year.
The end of summer 2026 in southern Gran Canaria is shaping up to be a mixed bag. Hotels are holding steady with high occupancy rates but more moderate growth expectations, while apartments are experiencing a significant drop in occupancy forecasts and a general climate of pessimism regarding the business outlook.
