Unregulated Tourism in Southern Europe: Impact on Housing Markets and Residents

• Residents in southern Europe, particularly Spain, Italy, and Portugal, protest against “overtourism” by holding placards expressing disapproval.

• Hoteliers in Mallorca, Spain, also welcome tourists, highlighting the structural issues of unregulated tourism.

• Tourism contributes significantly to GDP in Italy, Portugal, and Spain, contributing to 6% or more of the countries’ GDP.

• The rise in tourism dependency puts governments in a dilemma: should they prioritize tourists over their residents economically, spatially, and socially?

• Housing costs rose faster than overall consumer prices in 2022, making it more expensive for residents to live in these cities than for tourists to temporarily stay.

• Spain, Italy, and Portugal account for over 45% of all tourism-related accommodations in the EU in 2023, and hosted 33% of all hotel beds in the EU.

• Overnight tourism, a pattern of overnight stays, places homes into “stays”, putting pressure on housing markets and long-term spatial strains.

• Of all tourism-related businesses in the EU, 37% are in Spain, Italy, and Portugal, positioning these nations as key pillars of Europe’s tourism economy.