Provincial authorities said the blast was caused by a car bomb. Witnesses reported seeing a car arrive at the site before the explosion.
"Preliminary information indicates that the al-Qaeda organisation is behind the cowardly attack," an interior ministry official told the Sabam news agency.
"This criminal attack has killed seven Spanish tourists and two Yemeni nationals who worked as drivers and tourist guides, and wounded six Spanish tourists and two [Yemeni] nationals."
Convoy targeted
An official at Spain's foreign ministry in Madrid confirmed the tourists were Spanish nationals.
Witnesses said the attack occurred as the tourists were ending their tour of the temple.
A security official at the Yemen defence ministry said a car filled with explosives hit the tourists' five-car convoy, which included a police car.
No organisation has yet claimed responsibility for the bombing.
Security sources said the attack came after al-Qaeda issued a statement demanding the release of fighters from Yemeni jails.
The sources also said al-Qaeda's statement said Sanaa should distance itself from the US.