Tourist apartment stays up 8% in July despite new regulations
Tourism in Spain is enjoying another record-breaking summer, with more visitors, higher spending, and a growing preference for short-term holiday apartments, despite new government measures aimed at regulating the sector.
According to data released on Friday by the National Statistics Institute (INE), overnight stays in tourist apartments rose by nearly 8% in July, surpassing 10 million stays.
This was the highest increase among all non-hotel accommodation categories, which include rural properties, hostels, and campsites. Together, these types of lodging accounted for more than 22 million overnight stays, up almost 4% compared with July 2024.
The Canary Islands once again emerged as one of the top destinations for apartment rentals, with the United Kingdom confirmed as the leading source market.
What stands out is that this rise occurred in the same month the new central registry for short-term rentals came into effect. Demand was fuelled mainly by international visitors, whose overnight stays rose by 9.5%, while those by Spanish residents fell by 1.8%. However, the average stay in tourist apartments fell by 4.3% to 5.1 nights per traveller.
Rural tourism also experienced growth, with overnight stays rising by 5.6% compared with July last year. Stays by residents increased by 5.5% and by non-residents by 5.8%. Occupancy reached 32.5% of available places, with weekend occupancy climbing to 45.9%.
Camping stays painted a mixed picture. Overall demand increased by 0.4%, but while non-resident bookings jumped by 7.3%, overnight stays by Spanish residents fell sharply by 4.4%.
The figures highlight the ongoing challenge for the authorities: while tourism remains the islands’ main economic engine, the rapid growth of apartment-style accommodation continues to raise questions about its impact on the housing market for local residents.
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