Stays in tourist flats in Spain grew by 8% in July despite government's attempts to regulate them
The number of foreign holidaymakers using this type of rental accommodation increased by 9.5%, while those of Spanish residents decreased by 1.8%
Spanish tourism is experiencing another summer of record tourism figures, spending and a clear preference of visitors for tourist rental flats despite the government's attempts to regulate this type of activity. Overnight stays in this type of accommodation grew by nearly 8% in July, to over 10 million stays. This is the largest increase recorded among non-hotel accommodation, which includes flats, campsites, rural tourism accommodation and hostels. In July, it broke the barrier of 22 million, which is almost 4% more than the same period in 2024, according to data released by the INE national institute of statistics .
The 'boom' in tourist flat accommodation, with the Canary Islands consolidating once again as the preferred destination for this type of booking and the UK as the main source market, is a concern of the government. The irony is that this has occurred in the same month in which the single register of short-term rentals was launched. Mostly foreign visitors prefer non-hotel accommodation, evidenced by an increase of 9.5% tourists, compared to a drop of 1.8% in domestic tourists. However, the average stay in tourist flats fell by 4.3% to 5.1 overnight stays per person.
In a summer marked by fires, although these occurred mostly in August, overnight stays in rural tourism accommodation increased by 5.6% in July compared to the same month in 2024. Overnight stays by residents rose by 5.5% and those by non-residents by 5.8%; 32.5% of bedplaces were occupied, 5.5% more than in July 2024. The weekend occupancy rate stood at 45.9%, with an annual increase of 5%. The Balearic Islands were the preferred destination, with more than 250,000 overnight stays - some 4.5% more than in July 2024. It also achieved the highest occupancy rate, with 65.7%.
Among other curiosities that this statistic reveals is the drop in camping stays by domestic tourists. Overnight stays in this type of accommodation increased by 0.4% in July compared to the same period last year, but while those of residents fell by 4.4%, those of non-residents grew by 7.3%.
