- The Blueroom Project surveyed more than 200 professionals from the tourism sector in Spain, Portugal and Latin America, with the support of the Tourism & MICE Communications alliance and the special collaboration of Capital Marketing and Jervis.
- The study paints a picture of a Generation X traveller who travels as a couple or with their family and seeks purposeful leisure experiences rather than luxury for its own sake.
- 71.1 per cent of high-value customers travel primarily for leisure, with gastronomic travel (50.6 per cent) and slow tourism (41.6 per cent) gaining the most ground.
The Blueroom Project has presented “Ibero-America’s Most Valuable Traveller”, an international study carried out in July 2026 amongst more than 200 professionals in the tourism sector from Spain (50.6 per cent), Portugal (26.51 per cent) and Latin America (22.89 per cent), of whom 92.8 per cent work for DMCs, tour operators or travel agencies. Driven by a partnership with Tourism & MICE Communications and with the special collaboration of Capital Marketing and Jervis, its main conclusion is clear: the most valuable customer for the Ibero-American industry is not the one who spends the most on a single occasion, but the one who returns most often.
Loyalty carries more weight than one-off spending
For 50.6 per cent of professionals, what defines a valuable customer is their annual travel frequency; only 15.1 per cent associate it with high spending on itineraries. Furthermore, 66.3 per cent consider the ‘loyal customer’ to be the most profitable profile from an operational perspective, compared with 9.6 per cent who prioritise the low-maintenance ‘independent’ customer. Portugal is the market where this criterion carries the most weight (68.2 per cent), ahead of Spain (50 per cent) and Latin America (31.6 per cent), where there is a marked interest in personalised experiences (52.6 per cent).
A Generation X profile, travelling as a couple or with the family
Generation X accounts for 67.1 per cent of the highest-value customers, followed by millennials (18.9 per cent) and baby boomers (14 per cent); Generation Z has virtually no presence. These travellers tend to travel as a couple (46.4 per cent) or with their family (38 per cent) and prefer long-haul trips (45.8 per cent) or a combination of different travel distances (35.5 per cent).
The ‘sweet spot’: between €4,000 and €6,000
The most common per capita spend is between €4,000 and €6,000 (36.7 per cent), with bookings made between 2 and 5 months in advance (68 per cent). Ultra-luxury travel (over €15,000 per person per trip) is growing strongly in Latin America, where it accounts for 13.2 per cent of respondents, compared with 2.4 per cent in Spain.
Leisure with a purpose: gastronomy and slow tourism
71.1 per cent of high-value customers travel primarily for leisure. Gastronomic trips (on the rise for 50.6 per cent of respondents) and agritourism or slow tourism (41.6 per cent) are the most popular. When it comes to choosing a destination, the main factors are exploring uncharted places (64.5 per cent), heritage and museums (55.4 per cent) and gastronomy (50.6 per cent).
The sustainability paradox
Only 17.5 per cent say that customers are increasingly demanding sustainability and are willing to pay for it. 35.5 per cent value it, but would not pay extra, whilst 34.3 per cent would only consider it if the price remained the same.
In summary
In the words of Alejandro Pérez-Ferrant, founder and CEO of The Blueroom Project, the high-value Latin American traveller is, according to the study’s findings, “a Gen X traveller, loyal and a repeat customer, who occasionally spends a little more than usual, travelling as a couple or with their family in search of purposeful leisure (gastronomy, culture, nature) rather than luxury per se, with spending per itinerary consistently ranging between €4,000 and €6,000”.
At a regional level, Spain stands out for the maturity of its market and its focus on long-haul travel; Portugal leads in long-term loyalty and wellness tourism; and Latin America is driving ultra-luxury, demand for comfort and the growth of bleisure more strongly.
Spanish version of the “Study on the Most Valuable Traveller in Ibero-America 2026” available via this link: https://blueroom.es/en/insights/research-reports
Source: THE BLUEROOM PROJECT