No, Spain isn’t banning tourists. Here’s what’s really happening ...Middle East

Spain has introduced new regulations that could affect some tourists visiting the country for their summer holidays this year.

However, the rule-change brought in at one of its most popular resorts prompted panic and confusion after it was mistakenly characterised as a “tourist ban”.

Spain attracted 94 million tourists last year, a 10 per cent rise compared with 2023. Britons make up the biggest group by nationality.

Spain struggles to balance promoting tourism, which accounts for 12 per cent of GDP, with anger over rising rents, caused partly because landlords shift to more lucrative tourist rentals.

A series of protests were held in cities across mainland Spain and the Canary Islands last year calling for regulations to control tourist flats, which protesters claim push up rents beyond the reach of local people.

In response, a three-year law was introduced in Málaga in southern Spain this month to restrict tourist flats, prompting the claims of a tourist ban.

In fact, the law prevents the registration of any new holiday rentals in 43 districts of the city.

The measure, which was brought in by Málaga City Council, was designed to restrict the rise of holiday rental properties in the most crowded parts of the city.

The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez , said: “It isn’t fair that those who have three, four or five apartments as short-term rentals pay less tax than hotels or workers.

“The government’s duty is to prioritise residential use of housing and prevent speculative and touristic uses from expanding in a totally uncontrolled manner at the cost of residents.”

Yes, tourists can book hotels, Airbnbs and other accommodation. The only accommodation that is affected will be holiday flats registered since February 2022 that do not have access and resources separate from those for permanent residents. These holiday lets will have their licences cancelled.

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Other Spanish cities, including Alicante and Madrid, have already introduced restrictions in tourist flats.

Barcelona’s left-wing mayor Jaume Collboni pledged to rid the city of all its 10,000 tourist flats by 2028.

Other cities like Seville are about to introduce similar measures to restrict tourist flats.

What other measures has Spain brought in that tourists should know about?

Sánchez said earlier this month his government proposed to bring in a 100 per cent tax on holiday homes bought by Britons and other non-EU nationals who are not residents in Spain.

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He also suggested that his government could ban non-resident Britons and other non-EU citizens from buying holiday homes.

This is part of a series of measures designed to deal with Spain’s housing crisis.

The Spanish central bank recently estimated that there would be a deficit of about 500,000 houses by the end of 2025.

Spain’s left-wing coalition government believes that foreigners are buying property and speculating by renting it out to holiday makers. This is disputed by property experts who say most Britons buy holiday homes to enjoy summer breaks rather than to make money by renting them out to local people.

Have similar measures been brought in elsewhere?

Yes, Venice brought in a €5 (£4.20) charge for visitors to its historic centre to cut down the influx of tourists.

A limit of 25 people was also put on guided groups touring Venice, as well as the nearby islands of Burano and Torcello.

South Korea has implemented a curfew between 5pm and 10am in the picturesque neighbourhood of Bukchon Hanok Village in Seoul, which has struggled with mass tourism.

In Japan, a view of Mount Fuji was blocked to keep badly behaved tourists away.

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