UK travellers warned of major changes to tourism in Spain, here’s how it could affect your holiday

Like Venice and Amsterdam before them, Barcelona and other Spanish cities are now trying to curb mass-tourism.

Airbnbs taking over Spanish cities

Popular tourist destinations in Spain are being overwhelmed with Airbnbs, which are being held responsible for eroding community spirit.

This has resulted in a growing movement amongst Spanish cities to limit the amount of land, housing, and space reserved for tourists. This could possibly have major consequences for Brits wanting to travel to the country.

Barcelona is the latest Spanish city to decide to fight back against Airbnb’s domination on property , and the number of tourists visiting.

Less cruise ships and hotel beds

Barcelona's Mayor, Ada Colau, said this week she intends to reduce the number of cruise ships docking in the port city, following in Venice's footsteps.

Mayor Colau has already introduced a range of restrictions to reduce tourist numbers, including limiting the amount of hotel beds and new hotels in Barcelona. This means it could be more difficult for visitors to find somewhere to stay. Colau was also an advocate for scrapping plans to expand the airport.

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She told the Times:

The great challenge is tourism. Barcelona is a very densely populated city, hemmed in between the mountains and the sea, with restricted space. We can’t take infinite numbers of tourists. There has to be a sense of limits and order.

27 million people visit Barcelona each year, which is approximately 16 times more people than its full-time population. This has spurred the local government to change their approach to tourism to one of 'quality over quantity', according to Deputy Mayor Jaume Collboni. They are aiming for less tourists who spend more.

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Spanish holidays could become more expensive

Earlier this month, Majorca, Menorca and Ibiza were also discussing how to restrict the amount of tourists visiting, as reported by the Mirror.

The government of the Balearic Islands announced it will have an 'absolute ceiling' in regards to future tourist numbers. 16,475,579 people visited the islands in 2022, which will be the future maximum.

Spanish newspaper Ultimahora.es said the plan was to reduce the amount of visitors in summer, when 'the feeling of saturation has become suffocating for both residents and tourists'.

Lanzarote in the Canary Islands has also declared itself 'saturated'. Tourism bosses there want to restrict tourists and depend less on Brits, who currently represent 50% of the market.

It is not yet known what the impact of limiting tourism in Spain will be but with the aim of 'quality over quantity' without losing revenue, holidays there could become more expensive.

Sources used:

MyLondon: 'Heathrow and Gatwick: Major changes to tourism in Spain that all UK travellers should be aware of'

Mirror: 'Barcelona joins list of Spanish hotspots trying to keep tourists away for summer'