Overview

• Locals across Barcelona, Málaga, San Sebastián and the Balearic Islands are holding mass protests denouncing mass tourism and housing displacement.
• Barcelona City Council has enacted a moratorium on new holiday-rental licenses with existing permits set to expire by 2028.
• Spain anticipates a record 100 million tourist arrivals in 2025, intensifying pressure on already scarce housing.
• Residential rents on the Balearic Islands have jumped 158 percent over the past decade while social housing accounts for only 1.72 percent of national housing stock.
• High costs have driven many domestic tourists to seek inland destinations even as foreign arrivals continue to climb.