The employers' association for the sector notices a slowdown in the proliferation of tourist apartments

MadridIt seems the crackdown on tourist apartments is beginning to bear fruit. Exceltur, the leading tourism sector association in Spain, has observed a slowdown in this type of accommodation in the 25 Spanish cities most affected by tourism, including Barcelona. Specifically, they estimate a drop of 15,963 tourist apartment beds marketed on various platforms in 2025 compared to the previous year (Exceltur compares the peak season period), representing a 4.1% decrease. Last year ended with 366,000 tourist accommodation beds, according to the association.

"The conversion of residential properties into tourist accommodations has become more streamlined in 2025 thanks to the implementation of the digital one-stop shop," Exceltur's Executive Vice President, Óscar Perelli, highlighted this Tuesday. He also referred to the "uneven effort" of cities to curb the growth of this type of business and, above all, to eliminate illegal tourist apartments. In 2024, for example, Barcelona launched a plan for the tax regularization of the sector. While it is true that the following year, in 2025, the number of tourist accommodations still increased compared to the previous year, a 37% decrease was observed compared to the peak in 2018, when 112,225 tourist accommodations were registered. According to Exceltur, last year the Catalan capital ended with 71,169 tourist accommodations. In addition to Barcelona, ​​Ibiza, Palma, Santiago de Compostela, and San Sebastián also managed to reduce the supply of tourist accommodations in 2025. In contrast, Bilbao, Málaga, and Almería ended the year with "maximum" levels of tourist accommodations. According to the employers' association, this business is "the main cause of the oversupply of tourists in Spanish cities."

Less tourist pressure?

The employers' association has also noted "less tourist pressure" in Spain, which it believes translates into less citizen tension in the streets, especially in large cities where demonstrations against overtourism took place last year. For example, in BarcelonaThe tourism lobby translates this decrease in pressure into 20,000 fewer tourists per day in 2025 compared to 2024 (average number of foreign and Spanish tourists per day). The reason is not only that there is a larger resident population in Spain—and therefore, with more inhabitants, the proportion of tourists automatically falls—but also that the industry association has detected a drop in the number of Spaniards choosing Spain as their destination (they are traveling abroad more). In contrast, the number of international visitors has continued to grow, as has their spending, which has also skyrocketed. However, the industry association's forecasts for 2026 are "optimistic" despite the international context, marked by geopolitical tensions. In contrast, the tourism lobby is focusing on the new tourist taxes and fees being approved by some administrations—which they describe as a "virus"—as well as potential infrastructure bottlenecks. In this regard, they are asking Adif (Spain's railway infrastructure manager) for more investment to improve rail transport and avoid scenes like those of the summer of 2024, when the rail network suffered a deluge of disruptions. They have also demanded that Aena (Spain's airport authority) prioritize the "general interest over its own profits," and, in line with the airlines, the tourism industry association is requesting that fees not be increased.