Barcelona’s approach to mandating hotel stays over local accommodations will exacerbate rather than alleviate overtourism. As tourist numbers surge and non-hotel options dwindle, congestion in the city’s hotel areas will worsen.
History demonstrates this pattern. Both Amsterdam and Barcelona imposed short-term rental restrictions in 2018 due to overtourism concerns, resulting in a drop in local rental options. Nonetheless, by 2024, guest nights in Amsterdam and Barcelona rose by 2.4 million and 4.8 million respectively. During the recovery from 2021 to 2024, hotels accounted for 93% of Amsterdam’s rise and 76% of Barcelona’s, leading to a spike in hotel occupancy and costs—50% in Amsterdam, 35% in Barcelona between 2019 and early 2025.
Restricting platforms like Airbnb harms local communities, as nearly half of global hosts rely on this income to maintain their homes. Hotel guest spending typically stays onsite, whereas Airbnb guests contribute $2.50 to local economies for every dollar spent. In 2024, Airbnb-related travel injected $44.6 billion into the GDP of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, supporting nearly 630,000 jobs.
Airbnb stands as a viable overtourism solution by promoting alternative travel options. While hotel-goers repeatedly visit major cities, 60% of Airbnb guest nights in the EU occur outside urban centers, with non-city growth outpacing that in cities. In the ten most frequented EU cities in 2024, over 260,000 Airbnb visitors stayed in areas without hotels, with these stays soaring by 60% between 2022 and 2024. This trend indicates rising interest in less crowded locales.
Airbnb seeks to collaborate with governments to address overtourism with data-driven strategies. Our platform champions a sustainable tourism model, redistributing economic benefits through 5 million hosts more equitably than hotels do.
Tourism fostering home-sharing strengthens communities. Airbnb aims to partner with governments to reform tourism models, easing home-sharing, thereby enhancing sustainability and helping families to maintain affordability.
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