MADRID (Reuters) -The supply of short-term rentals for tourists has jumped 25% in Spain over the last two years, a study by tourism lobby group Exceltur found, despite the local governments’ attempts to curtail them amid a housing crisis.
The boom in tourist accommodation is growing at an above- average pace in several of the top 50 tourist municipalities and destinations which accounted for half of all international visitor arrivals in 2024, the Exceltur study added.
Conversely, the number of hotel rooms available grew by just 2% between 2022 and 2024, according to official data of registered tourist accommodation and listings on platforms analysed by Exceltur.
Spain has been looking for ways to restrict the number of homes rented to tourists following a post-pandemic boom in visitors, amid protests by residents who blame overtourism for a spike in rental or home purchase prices.
The measures seek to push landlords towards longer-term rentals to residents amid a countrywide deficit of 450,000 homes, according to the Bank of Spain.
In Barcelona, the mayor banned all permits for short-term rentals by 2028, while Malaga, Madrid and the Canary Islands are restricting new permits.
Last week, the government ordered Airbnb (ABNB.O) to withdraw more than 65,000 listings it said violated existing rules from its platform. Airbnb said it would appeal.
“The big problem with these regulations is that, with traditional inspections, regional and local governments have been unable to enforce them,” Exceltur vice president, Oscar Perelli, told Reuters on Monday.
Tourist rentals in Madrid surged by 49% between 2022 and 2024, representing 38% of a total 176,702 beds for visitors, Exceltur said. In Malaga, tourist accommodation has increased by 36% in two years, now making up 56% of the offer to visitors.
In Barcelona, a moratorium of several years on rental permits hasn’t yet stemmed growth, with short-term rentals increasing by 26%, Exceltur added.
Spain is the world’s second most popular tourist destination after France, with 25.6 million international tourists visiting in the first four months of this year, up 7% from 2024.
(Reporting by Corina Pons, editing by Aislinn Laing and Bernadette Baum)
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