Spain's tourism sector posted record figures for the first half of 2025, with 47.3 million international arrivals representing a 14% year-on-year increase. The data, released by the National Statistics Institute, was immediately cited by the government as evidence of economic resilience.
But economists and urban researchers are pointing to a more complicated picture. The tourism boom has coincided with a sharp rise in housing costs in coastal cities, a contraction in the supply of long-term rental accommodation, and growing evidence that the economic benefits of mass tourism are not being distributed evenly.
Who Benefits
A study published last month by the University of Barcelona found that in the ten most tourist-intensive municipalities in Catalonia, median household income had risen by 4.2% over the past three years — but housing costs had risen by 31%. The result is that residents who do not own property are, on average, worse off in real terms than they were before the tourism recovery.
The pattern is not unique to Catalonia. In the Balearic Islands, the regional government has introduced emergency measures to cap short-term rental licences, citing a housing crisis that has made it impossible for many service workers to live in the communities where they work.
The Policy Response
The national government has been reluctant to intervene directly, arguing that housing and tourism regulation are primarily regional competencies. Critics say this amounts to passing responsibility downward while collecting the tax revenues that tourism generates.