The central government has ordered the removal of holiday lets that do not give ownership credentials in their listings or which fail to show licence details. Cities affected include Madrid and Barcelona.
The purge comes amid growing protests in the country about overtourism and the affordability of housing for Spaniards. The BBC says Spain’s rental prices have doubled in the past decade, with tourism rentals adding to the problem by removing rentals for local people.
Spain’s prime minister Pedro Sanchez has said "there are too many Airbnbs and not enough homes".
Last year, Barcelona’s mayor pledged to eliminate short-term tourist lets in the city within five years. Jaume Collboni said he did not plan to renew any of the 10,000 tourist licences granted to landlords when they expire in November 2028.
Last weekend, several thousand people protested in the Canary Islands under the slogan "Canaries have a limit".
Agents have in recent weeks told TTG they have had to reassure clients "anxious" about the demonstrations and the reception tourists might receive, while Jet2 chief Steve Heapy recently reiterated his view that rental platforms like Airbnb should be more tightly regulated and are fanning anti-tourist sentiments.
Two of Spain’s top destinations recently told TTG how they are planning to change perceptions and transition to a "less is more" approach to tourism that will more heavily lean on each specific destination or region’s culture.
Meanwhile, Majorca is reportedly reconsidering how it continues attempts to spread visitors away from the traditional hotspots. It has used influencers to highlight little-known areas of the country, but The Guardian reports that this has backfired.
It gives the example of a tiny cove that has been overwhelmed after an influencer highlighted it, with 4,000 people and 1,200 vehicles visiting ever day a site with capacity for just 100 visitors. The paper said the local authority has now removed all images of the bay from its website.
