{"id":235455,"date":"2026-07-01T17:16:39","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:16:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/spaniards-are-traveling-more-than-ever-why-new-trendy-restaurants-are-gas-stations-and-airports\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T17:16:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T17:16:40","slug":"spaniards-are-traveling-more-than-ever-why-new-trendy-restaurants-are-gas-stations-and-airports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/spaniards-are-traveling-more-than-ever-why-new-trendy-restaurants-are-gas-stations-and-airports\/","title":{"rendered":"Spaniards Are Traveling More Than Ever: Why New Trendy Restaurants Are Gas Stations and Airports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Evolution of Eating Habits in Spain<\/h2>\n

Spain of 2026 reflects a significant shift in dining trends compared to past decades. Traditional staples like bread, fish, wine, and beer are witnessing declining home consumption. Instead, Spaniards are increasingly leaning towards convenient options such as pre-cooked meals and ready-to-eat dishes, especially from supermarkets like Mercadona. This transformation has led to the emergence of “snackfication,” where multi-course meals are replaced by quick, snack-sized options.<\/p>\n

The Rise of ‘Road’ Restaurants<\/h2>\n

In this evolving culinary landscape, ‘road’ restaurants, particularly those situated in gas stations and airports, have gained popularity. As travel becomes more integral to the Spanish lifestyle, these establishments cater to a growing demographic of travelers on the go.<\/p>\n

Growth in the Hospitality Sector<\/h3>\n

The year 2025 saw a modest but positive growth in Spain’s hospitality sector. While restaurants experienced a slight decline in profitability, overall turnover increased by approximately 4.7%. Within this sector, ‘transit’ restaurants\u2014those in railway stations, airports, and service areas\u2014have outperformed many traditional dining venues, demonstrating resilience and adaptability.<\/p>\n

Impressive Market Statistics<\/h2>\n

A recent report from the DBK Sector Observatory revealed that around 4,300 ‘on-the-road’ restaurants exist in Spain, with sales increasing by 6.2% in the past year. This growth is even more remarkable considering the sector had already expanded by 11.6% the previous year and has shown consistent robust growth since 2021.<\/p>\n

In financial terms, these ‘road’ eateries generated an impressive turnover of \u20ac1.79 billion in 2025, with 45.5% of revenue stemming from airport bars alone, making it the largest contributing segment. In comparison, service areas, railway stations, and maritime stations also contributed significantly but with lower figures.<\/p>\n

Breakdown of Revenue by Establishment Type<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Business Type<\/th>\nBilling (Millions of \u20ac)<\/th>\nGrowth % (2025-2024)<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Airports<\/td>\n815<\/td>\n+7.2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Service Areas<\/td>\n785<\/td>\n+5.9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Railway Stations<\/td>\n150<\/td>\n+3.4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Maritime Stations<\/td>\n40<\/td>\n+2.6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
TOTAL<\/strong><\/td>\n1,790<\/strong><\/td>\n+6.2<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

The Impact of Airport Dining<\/h2>\n

Interestingly, airport restaurants not only lead in revenue generation but also in expansion. The DBK report notes a 7.2% growth in turnover for these establishments, largely correlating with a 3.9% increase in passenger traffic at Aena-controlled airports, which saw over 321 million travelers in 2025.<\/p>\n

Changing Dietary Preferences<\/h2>\n

The DBK report further sheds light on the evolving food preferences among Spaniards. With a noticeable decline in the consumption of fresh fish and traditional cooking, a significant portion of the population now opts for pre-cooked items from supermarkets. Additionally, the trend of enjoying meals in transient locations underscores the ongoing transformation in Spain’s dining culture.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

As travel habits shift and convenience dictates food choices, the rise of trendy restaurants at gas stations and airports signals a significant change in how Spaniards perceive dining. These developments not only reflect changing culinary preferences but also point to a future where on-the-go eating becomes the norm.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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General News – 2<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Evolution of Eating Habits in Spain Spain of 2026 reflects a significant shift in dining trends compared to past decades. Traditional staples like bread, fish, wine, and beer are witnessing declining home consumption. Instead, Spaniards are increasingly leaning towards convenient options such as pre-cooked meals and ready-to-eat dishes, especially from supermarkets like Mercadona. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":235456,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36399],"tags":[2945,171,3872,38448,2890,7835,5325],"class_list":["post-235455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-technology","tag-airports","tag-gas","tag-restaurants","tag-spaniards","tag-stations","tag-traveling","tag-trendy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235455","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235455"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235455\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235457,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235455\/revisions\/235457"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/teknomers.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}