IVA refunds at Malaga Airport reach record 26.5m euros as shopping tourism booms

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From luxury outlets to high-street giants, non-EU international visitors to the Costa are taking advantage of the end of the 90.15 euro minimum spend

Pilar Martínez / Cristina Vallejo

MALAGA. MARBELLA.

Friday, 20 February 2026, 11:02

The frequent queues at Malaga Airport's IVA (VAT) refund office and at the nine digital kiosks in the terminal are a vibrant sign of the wealth flowing through the Costa del Sol.

This surge is powered by a booming 'shopping tourism' industry and an ever-growing number of non-EU travellers.

At the head of the queue are the British, who now represent a significant 30% of all international passengers using the Malaga airport facilities. But what many of these travellers may not realise is that people visiting Spain are entitled to an IVA refund on purchases made in the country as long as they have their habitual residence outside the European Union (or in the Canary Islands, Ceuta or Melilla).

Purchases must not be intended for large commercial shipments, (that is, they should be for personal use) and visitors must leave the EU within three months of their shopping trip. Even small purchases can be claimed for - the previous minimum spend of 90.15 euros per invoice has been abolished.

The process for claiming these refunds primarily takes place at the country's ports or airports. Firstly, shoppers simply request an electronic tax-free form (DIVA) or an electronic refund document at the shop when they buy their items. Before checking in any luggage, this document must be validated at the airport kiosks.

If an electronic form was not requested, passengers must present their original purchase invoices to officials. Once validated, the refund can be claimed at the kiosks before heading to the boarding area. It is also possible to process the refund directly through the shop where the items were originally purchased

Record growth

The number and volume of IVA refunds are key barometers for measuring how dynamic an airport is. Malaga once again stands out at this. It has recorded the highest growth in refunds both in the last financial year and in the six years since the pandemic.

According to tax agency data seen by SUR, the number of refunds in Malaga has grown by an impressive 166% since 2019. They have multiplied 2.6 times, rising from 151,000 pre-pandemic to over 404,000. This has resulted in a 116% increase in the economic volume of refunds. The total climbed from 12.24 million euros in 2019 to almost 26.5 million in 2025.

This makes Malaga Airport (or rather its customers) the third-largest recipient of VAT refunds in Spain. It follows Madrid-Barajas, which saw almost 290 million euros last year, and Barcelona's El Prat at almost 163 million. Malaga has now surged ahead of Palma, which recorded 6.1 million euros last year.

Unstoppable growth

Only Madrid comes close to Malaga's rapid growth rate. In Madrid, returns have grown by 116% since the pandemic, while the total amount returned has doubled. Meanwhile, Palma and El Prat have seen much more modest growth at 74% and 15%, respectively.

In 2025 alone, the number of refunds in Malaga grew by almost 20%. This led to a healthy 11.5% increase in economic volume. This performance contrasts sharply with Palma airport, where refunds rose just 6.3% and the total amount returned actually dipped by 1.5%.

A key factor in this boost is Brexit. Since the UK left the EU, British tourists have been eligible for IVA refunds. They represent a third of international travellers arriving at Malaga airport. Although the Brexit referendum took place in 2016, British travellers only officially became eligible for tax-free shopping on 1 January 2021

British or Moroccan?

Despite the high number of British visitors - reaching 3,051,507 last year after a 7.5% increase - it is tourists from Morocco who top the list for tax-free requests having fully embraced the money-saving opportunities.

The Moroccan market accounts for just 340,000 airport arrivals but that country's citizens accounted for more than 40% of 'tax-free' requests at the airport, confirmed authorities.

However, it is a country that is experiencing sharp growth, with numbers of visitors from Morocco up by almost 24% during 2025, according to the Costa del Sol tourist board

At other major Spanish airports, Argentinian nationals are typically the most frequent claimants.

El Corte Inglés reports that Moroccan visitors are the top international customers at their three flagship stores in the province: Malaga city, Mijas and Puerto Banús.

They highlight a surprising fact: "50% of the purchases made by Moroccan citizens in Spain and Portugal are made on the Costa del Sol."

Key drivers include geographic proximity and the increase in direct flights to six Moroccan cities: Casablanca, Fez, Marrakech, Rabat, Tangier and Tetouan.

Increased awareness

Retailers like El Corte Inglés and the McArthurGlen outlet in Malaga agree that travellers are becoming more aware of their right to IVA refunds. However, this trend has not yet caught on as strongly with British visitors, who tend to prioritise leisure over shopping.

The McArthurGlen Designer Outlet has welcomed over 40 million visitors since 2020. They report that Morocco remains their top international buyer market, followed by the UK, Kuwait, Argentina and Turkey.

In 2025, the outlet saw a 9% growth in sales and reached 9.2 million visitors. They celebrated a record result in duty-free sales, with significant growth from customers in China, the US, Turkey, Argentina and India.

According to the tax agency, the most popular products for refunds in Malaga are fashion, accessories, jewellery, watches and cosmetics. In contrast, at Barajas, El Prat and Palma, jewellery and watches are less prominent, replaced by sports and leisure goods.

These trends are influenced by a rise in travellers from the Persian Gulf. This follows new flight connections to Doha, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait and Bahrain. Increased seating on the United Airlines route to New York has also boosted the number of US tourists visiting the region.

Marbella has been chosen as a flagship "pilot destination" for a Spanish government project aimed at boosting luxury shopping and high-end tourism.

Marbella joins a select group of destinations, including Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca and Madrid's Las Rozas, in a study funded by the European Union. The project aims to identify best practices in digitisation and smart data management to attract more international spenders.

In a record-breaking year, shopping tourism generated more than 310 million euros in Marbella in 2024.

Data shows that Spain now ranks third globally for luxury tourism and third in Europe for tax-free transactions. Marbella was chosen for its "ideal characteristics, importance in the country's tourism landscape and its potential to strengthen the shopping tourism sector".