Spain is currently experiencing a significant tourism boom, a phenomenon that has considerably bolstered the nation's economy. However, this surge in visitors has also triggered widespread local concern regarding the increasing scarcity and unaffordability of housing. Addressing this issue has become a top priority for Spain's minority coalition government, which has initiated a concerted crackdown on illegal short-term tourist rentals.

As part of these efforts, online hotel booking giant Booking.com announced on Friday that it had removed thousands of advertisements in Spain. This action was taken at the explicit request of the consumer ministry, specifically targeting listings that lacked valid licenses. Booking.com, headquartered in Amsterdam, stated that the non-compliant advertisements constituted a "very small number," representing less than two percent of its approximately 200,000 properties listed in Spain. The company affirmed its commitment to collaborating with authorities to regulate the short-term rental sector, emphasizing its ongoing cooperation.

The consumer rights ministry had previously announced on Thursday that Booking.com had scrapped precisely 4,093 illegal advertisements. The majority of these listings were concentrated in the Canary Islands, a highly popular Atlantic Ocean tourist destination. This move by Booking.com is not isolated; Spain has also issued orders to another prominent online tourist accommodation giant, Airbnb, to remove more than 65,000 advertisements due to violations of licensing rules, leading to an ongoing legal dispute with the US-based company.

Spain, globally recognized as the world's second most-visited country, hosted a record-breaking 94 million foreign tourists in 2024. While this influx is economically beneficial, residents in major tourist hotspots, such as Barcelona, are increasingly attributing the housing crisis and undesirable changes in their neighborhoods to the proliferation of short-term rentals. Far-left consumer rights minister Pablo Bustinduy underscored the government's stance, stating on Bluesky, “We're making progress in the fight against a speculative model that expels people from their neighborhoods and violates the right to a home.”