The Spanish government has launched a crackdown on short-term holiday rentals, calling for nearly 66 000 listings on Airbnb to be removed for breaching tourism accommodation regulations.
The move comes as Spain braces for another summer of overtourism protests. Demonstrations across the Canary Islands on May 18 drew thousands of locals rallying against the strain mass tourism is placing on housing and infrastructure.
Spain’s Minister for Social Rights, Consumer Affairs and the 2030 Agenda, Pablo Bustinduy, said the targeted listings “violated various norms regarding housing for tourist use”.
A Madrid court has already ordered Airbnb to immediately delist nearly 5 000 of the properties. The remainder – roughly 60 000 more – are still under judicial review.
The contested listings span six of Spain’s most popular regions for international tourists: Madrid, Andalusia, Catalonia, Valencia, the Basque Country and the Balearic Islands.
Authorities say the properties in question either lacked valid tourism licence numbers, used false information, or failed to clarify whether the owner was a private individual or a professional operator.
Spain has seen an influx of nearly 100 million foreign tourists annually, and the tourism boom is increasingly drawing fire from local communities who argue that short-term rentals are pushing residents out of city centres and inflating housing costs.
More protests are planned, including a large demonstration in Majorca on June 15 organised by the group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (‘Less tourism, more life’).
Furthermore, Spain has also announced that it will end collaborations with influencers to promote hotspots in the Balearic Islands, reports Travel Tomorrow.
The move comes after last year’s mass overcrowding of Caló des Moro, a secluded cove in Mallorca, where up to 4 000 visitors a day descended on a site designed for just 100, largely driven by viral posts on Instagram and TikTok.
