Last year, a record 94 million tourists visited Spain, the Associated Press reported. But locals complained that the surge in visitors to the European country led to overcrowding and a lack of affordable housing. Several anti-tourism protests took place throughout Spain last year.
Now, newsheadlines and social posts claim Spain initiated a tourist ban. “Spain tourist ban: British holidaymakers set to suffer under THREE YEARS of new restrictions,” one of the headlines says.
Google Trends also shows people are searching about a tourist ban in Spain.
THE QUESTION
Is Spain banning tourists?
THE SOURCES
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Katy Nastro, travel expert at Going
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A news release from Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez
THE ANSWER
No, Spain is not banning tourists.
WHAT WE FOUND
Spain is not banning tourism, but the country is taking steps to address overcrowding and the affordable housing crisis by introducing new initiatives related to short-term rental properties. There is no law banning visitors from entering the country.
Earlier this month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced a set of new initiatives aimed at tackling housing concerns in the country, including regulations on tourist housing.
Sánchez proposed a tax reform that would “promote the application of a tax on tourist rentals that puts them on a par with other economic activities” and potentially limit the purchase of homes by non-residents.
The government would also create a fund to inspect properties for rental fraud.
The cities of Barcelona and Malaga have also initiated new regulations to restrict how many temporary housing structures tourists can use. The rules aim to convert residences typically used for short-term accommodations to ones for full-time residents.
In Barcelona, all 10,000 tourist apartment licenses expiring in 2028 will not be renewed. This “will facilitate access for residents to long-term and stable rental housing” in areas that have a high local population, the Barcelona City Council says.
In Malaga, rental properties are only being restricted and not eliminated, as part of a three-year test program. With this regulation, no new tourist properties can open if tourist housing already exceeds 8% of residencies in certain neighborhoods, Malaga City Council explains.
Even with these restrictions in place, tourists can still book “hotel stays and short-term apartment-style rentals just about anywhere in Spain,” the Associated Press reported. But these rentals may come at a higher cost in the future.
The Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona (APARTUR) expressed concerns that the regulations won’t actually resolve the housing crisis because tourist homes represent 40% of tourist accommodations available in Barcelona, but represent just 0.77% of the majority of housing types available for residents in the city.
“If Spain continues to be as popular as ever, tourists may find in the coming years that major cities aren’t as affordable or offer as many affordable options as in previous years,” Katy Nastro, travel expert at Going explained to VERIFY.