The number of tourist accommodation places (VUT) in ten Spanish cities now exceeds the total hotel capacity, with Málaga, Valencia and Alicante standing out, according to a report by Exceltur on the 25 cities with the highest number of tourist accommodation places in 2024. In addition to these cities, the others on the list are Seville, Granada, Córdoba, Las Palmas, Santander, Gijón and Murcia.
Furthermore, the VUT figure is rising across all Spanish cities compared to 2023 levels. Notable increases include Valencia (+30.2%), Madrid (+22.9%), Córdoba (+22.1%), Alicante (+21.8%), Málaga (+19.3%) and Seville (+17.4%).
On the other hand, according to the full ranking compiled by the tourism lobby, the number of holiday apartments in Spain grew by 17.5% compared to 2023, reaching 344,397 places – nearly six times the 2.9% increase in hotel capacity, which now totals 404,914.
Exceltur has emphasised that, despite the efforts of regional and local governments to regulate tourist apartments, "the reality of the situation highlights the need to introduce new regulatory measures to ensure that homes not complying with the aforementioned regulations cannot be marketed."
The lobby also expressed concern that the growth in the supply of tourist accommodation, driven by the conversion of homes into holiday rentals, has significantly contributed to the increase in tourist pressure and the social perception of tourism throughout 2024.
In this regard, the report highlights that tourist pressure in 2024, measured by overnight stays, totalled 1.0632 billion nights between January and September. While this figure did not reach the record levels of 2017 (1.0688 billion), it represented a 5.5% increase compared to 2023. The growth in VUTs accounted for the largest share of this increase, contributing 51%.
For all these reasons, Exceltur has recognised and welcomed "very positively" the approval and enactment of the Royal Decree on the Digital Single Window for Leases on 2 January, although its full application will not take effect until 1 July.
"It is a tool to ensure that digital platforms involved as an intermediary of rentals cannot advertise tourist properties that do not have the required registration number, managed by the property registrar authority," the organisation emphasised.