New measures to combat hyper-tourism were announced Monday by Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, who is set to impose additional taxes on foreign property buyers.

This is part of a package of 12 measures being introduced by the Spanish government to deal with the rapid rise in rents, which has made finding a home unaffordable by Spanish citizens, the Daily Mail reports in a related report.

The package of measures proposed by Sanchez includes a tax of up to 100% on properties bought by residents of non-EU countries. In addition, the package includes policies focused on reforming the construction sector, ensuring affordable rents, and providing incentives for those following rental guidelines.

While there are still shortcomings in the proposed measures to combat over-tourism, as no proposal to bring down rental prices is included, they represent a way to curb the excess profits of property owners who aim to make homes available for tourist use.

Europe is in the vortex of high rents and over-tourism

Like most European capitals, Spain is facing a growing issue of rising rental prices, particularly in tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid. However, locals complain that – while houses are getting more expensive – incomes are stagnating, making it increasingly difficult to find accommodation, particularly for young people.

This is mainly due to the exploitation of housing for short-term rentals, particularly by foreign buyers.

Spain is one of the countries most affected by the demand for holiday property, welcoming more than 88.5 million visitors in 2024 alone.

Spaniards hit the streets for cheaper rents

“Overtourism” has prompted Spaniards to protest this year, demanding urgent measures from the government.

Typically, at the end of June this year, thousands of people from all over southern Spain took to the streets of Malaga to protest against mass tourism, while the summer saw many mass mobilisations by residents of cities that are popular tourist destinations, such as Granada and Seville.

Demonstrations also took place in other tourist locations during the summer, such as Mallorca, the Balearic Islands, and Barcelona.

Typically, an incident made the rounds on the internet in the highly popular Caló des Moro cove in Mallorca, where angry locals attempted to chase tourists off the beach by shouting: “Go away!”

“The tourists have taken over the beach… for one day, we’ll enjoy it,” another local, with long hair and a tattoo, appeared to say, before gesturing to the disgruntled tourists to leave.

But Spaniards are not alone in their battle for affordable housing and sustainable tourism practices.

In Portugal, similar problems with short-term vacation rentals and a lack of affordable housing have led residents to mobilize in cities across the country with banners denouncing the issue: “I have to choose between paying for a house or eating.”

France took steps late last year to alleviate growing frustration over housing availability by passing a long-awaited bill to tighten regulations on the short-term tourist rental market. The number of such rentals increased from 300,000 to 1.2 million between 2016 and 2024.

Sanchez said that in 2023 alone, buyers from outside the EU acquired 27,000 houses and apartments in Spain “not to live in them, but mainly to speculate.”

He said this is “something that, in the context of the shortages we are experiencing, we cannot afford.”