In the first four months of the year, international tourists who opted for rental accommodation (tourist flats, single-family residences, etc.) increased by 34%, reaching 3.15 million travelers. In contrast, the number of tourists staying in hotels increased three times less, by 11.4%, according to the data from the INE on tourist movements published yesterday.
The vast majority of tourists who come to Spain continue to spend their vacations in hotels. Out of the nearly 24 million who visited the country until April (14.5% more than a year ago, a historical record), 14.78 million chose this type of accommodation.
However, the hotel capacity has only increased by 3% in the last year compared to the average for the period 2016-2019, according to data from the Bank of Spain. “How is it possible that the number of tourists is skyrocketing in this way if there are not many more hotel rooms? Because of tourist apartments,” sources in the sector consider.
A study by the Exceltur association, which groups together the 30 largest companies in the sector, with data from AirDNA, reveals that the number of tourist accommodations in the 25 main Spanish cities has increased by 25% in one year, with 287,000 units as of March 31st. Barcelona, Madrid, and Malaga account for almost half of this supply.
This type of accommodation is only decreasing in those areas where governments have made significant decisions, as in Palma. “The Balearic city has completely banned tourist rentals and will eliminate 4,000 spots.”
In the whole country, tourist accommodations increased by 9.2% between February 2023 and February 2024, reaching 351,389 apartments, which already represent 1.33% of the total number of flats throughout the territory, according to the INE.
Andalucía, Valencian Community, and Catalonia are the autonomous regions with the most tourist accommodations, and in fact, in the Valencian region, there are almost as many hotel rooms as vacation rentals. This region has also experienced the highest increase in tourist arrivals in the first four months, at 22%, with over 3 million visitors.
