Is Spain imposing a tourist ban this year? What we know so far

Thousands of Brits will be planning holidays to Spain this year. Last year the country welcomed more than 90 million international tourists with the UK being the origin of most of Spans’ international air passengers, according to figures from EuroWeekly News.

But in 2024 tourism caused tensions among residents in popular holiday resorts through mainland Spain, the Balearics and the Canary Islands.

Protests were held across the year in tourist destinations including Tenerife, Majorca and Barcelona, with locals raising concerns about the impact of visitors on the environment, infrastructure and housing prices.

Responding to the demonstrations, local governments have announced various measures to tackle the issue, which includes increasing tourist taxes and placing limits on short-term holiday rentals.

Housing in particular is a major problem in popular Spanish resorts. An increase in short-term holiday rentals has driven up rental prices and means that fewer properties are available to rent or buy by locals.

The topic hit the headlines recently when Spain’s prime minister set out plans to increase property taxes for non-EU buyers, facing taxes of up to 100 per cent. The proposed plans are designed to free-up housing stock and prevent foreign buyers from purchasing property without living in it.

On Tuesday, January 14 measures designed to curb short-term holiday rentals in the Costa del Sol region of Spain came into force, in what has been described as a ‘tourist ban’.

Covering 43 districts of Costa del Sol's capital, Malaga city, the measures limit the amount of accommodation available for tourists.

It means no new holiday rentals can be registered in the 43 most crowded areas of the city where rental properties make