Published 02 September 2026 | Travel Tips

TL;DR: Almeria’s apartments , campsites and rural stays welcomed 204,806 travellers between January and July 2026, generating 676,562 overnight stays, with every accommodation type recording year-on-year growth.

Alternative accommodation grows in Almeria

Travellers choosing something other than a traditional hotel helped keep Almeria’s tourism figures moving upwards during the first seven months of 2026. The province’s extra-hotel accommodation sector — covering tourist apartments, campsites and rural accommodation — recorded increases in both visitor numbers and overnight stays compared with the same period in 2025.

From January to July, these accommodation categories received 204,806 travellers. That was 11.22% higher than the 184,153 recorded during the first seven months of the previous year.

The number of overnight stays rose more moderately. Across the three types of accommodation, the total reached 676,562 nights, compared with 656,986 in January to July 2025. This represented growth of 2.98%.

For visitors planning a stay in the province, the figures underline the range of accommodation beyond hotels. Apartments remain the largest part of this market, while campsites account for a substantial share of overnight stays and rural accommodation recorded the strongest percentage increases.

Apartment stays lead

Tourist apartments continued to be the main contributor in terms of both travellers and overnight stays. They welcomed 125,493 visitors between January and July 2026, up from 109,056 in the equivalent period of 2025. The increase was 15.07%.

Overnight stays in apartments also increased, although at a slower pace. The total reached 439,170, compared with 429,354 the year before — a rise of 2.29%.

These figures make apartments the biggest segment within Almeria’s extra-hotel accommodation market during the period covered. They also show a difference between the growth in visitor numbers and the more limited rise in total nights spent.

Rural accommodation rises fastest

Rural tourism accommodation posted the most pronounced percentage gains. The province recorded 12,130 rural travellers in the first seven months of 2026, compared with 9,963 during the same stretch of 2025. That amounted to an increase of 21.75%.

Overnight stays followed the same upward direction. Rural properties registered 26,765 stays, against 22,349 in the previous year, representing growth of 19.76%.

The rural figures remain smaller than those for apartments and campsites in absolute terms, but the year-on-year movement is particularly notable. For travellers considering a stay away from the largest accommodation centres, rural properties formed the fastest-growing category in the data available through July.

Camping keeps steady growth

Campsites also continued to advance, with increases in both the number of users and the nights recorded. Between January and July 2026, 67,183 travellers chose this type of accommodation in Almeria. The figure was 3.15% above the 65,134 registered during the same months of 2025.

Camping overnight stays reached 210,627, compared with 205,283 in the first seven months of the previous year. This was an increase of 2.60%.

Although the percentage rises were less pronounced than those recorded by rural accommodation, campsites represented a significant part of the province’s total overnight stays. Their 2026 figure was also substantially higher than the total for rural properties, reflecting the different scale of the two segments.

Reading the figures

The overall picture is positive, but the data does not show identical growth across the different accommodation types. Visitor numbers increased by 11.22% across the sector, while overnight stays rose by 2.98%. That means the increase in travellers was considerably stronger than the increase in nights recorded.

For visitors, the figures offer a simple guide to the shape of the market during the first part of 2026. Apartments remained the dominant option by volume, campsites continued to attract a sizeable number of guests, and rural accommodation showed the sharpest growth compared with 2025.

The figures cover January through July only, so they describe the year’s first seven months rather than the full 2026 tourism picture. Even so, all three categories ended the period above their corresponding totals from 2025, giving Almeria’s extra-hotel sector a positive mid-year position.

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