Occasionally, but increasingly frequently, overtourism is reported worldwide, as seen in the water pistol incidents last year. Many within the travel and tourism sector, as well as those responsible for destination management, argue that overtourism is overstated. In November last year, the influential and highly regarded business and current affairs journal The Economist featured an article in its The World Ahead series, asserting that “Travel trends will return to more normal levels.” The headline predicted that “The shock of ‘overtourism’ will subside in 2025.”
The Economist argues that entry fees have been introduced in Venice and group size’s limited to 25. “Nearly half a million people happily paid Venice’s fee, about the cost of a coffee in Piazza San Marco, which suggests that it was too small to deter day-trippers.” Moving the cruise terminal further away will, they say, increase road traffic and abolishing short-term rentals will only increase the cost of hotels. In The Economist’s opinion, these measures “are not only cosmetic, they are an overreaction to overtourism.”
Airbnb began by offering traditional bed and breakfast experiences, where guests stayed in the owner’s home. It quickly evolved into an online marketplace for short-term rentals and now includes hosted experiences. Airbnb has become so dominant that its name is often used synonymously with short-term rentals.
Search “Airbnb” under the ‘News’ tab on Google and you will find global media coverage, much of it focused on the potential impacts on travellers’ holiday plans.
Holidaymakers typically have more disposable income than the cooks, waiters, and cleaners who serve them. A disparity in spending power is further aggravated by the fact that tourists often pay more per night for accommodation than locals do for their own housing. The rise in short-term rentals creates direct competition between tourists and residents for housing. This limited access to accommodation has become one of the main drivers of anti-overtourism protests and, in many places, the primary cause. The obvious result has been a surge in rental costs. Additionally, when outsiders—often foreign buyers—acquire properties for investment, retirement, second homes, or tourist rentals, house prices rise, much to the frustration and disadvantage of local residents.
Those in the short-term rental business argue that the remedy for the housing crisis in tourist areas is to build more homes, ignoring the fact that space and potable water are finite resources. They argue that restraints on Airbnb deny local families important income, an argument that surely applies only if rooms are being let in the family home and the income directly benefits the household. There are very few of those. Where the rental property is owned outside the local community or abroad, the vast majority of the income leaks out, pours out, of the local economy.
Destination governments used to have some control over tourism volumes through the planning system; the number of beds could be controlled. Regulatory lag and the difficulty of controlling change-of-use have made it all but impossible for local governments to exercise any degree of control over the growth in short-term letting.
In Spain, the courts have ruled that Airbnb must immediately withdraw from the market 4,984 of the properties cited by the ministry. The Consumer Minister Pablo Bustinduy says his goal is to end the general “lack of control” and “illegality” in the holiday rental business. “No more excuses. Enough with protecting those who make a business out of the right to housing in our country,” Bustinduy argues that short-term rental properties have “violated various norms regarding housing for tourist use”. Yesterday the Spanish government called for the delisting of a further 66,000 properties on Airbnb on the grounds that they also breach regulations for tourist accommodation.
Bustinduy argued that “it can be possible to ensure that no economic interest has priority over housing and that no company, however big or powerful, is above the law”. Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, said earlier this year, “there are too many Airbnbs and not enough homes”, and he promised to prevent the “uncontrolled” expansion of the use of properties for tourism.
Airbnb will appeal the court’s ruling, arguing that
“Governments across the world are seeing that regulating Airbnb does not alleviate housing concerns or return homes to the market – it only hurts local families who rely on hosting to afford their homes and rising costs.” – Bed and Breakfast has long been used in this way, but Airbnb has long ceased to facilitate home sharing in this way at any scale.
💬 Spain calls to block over 65k Airbnb ads for being considered 'illicit'
— Catalan News (@catalannews) May 19, 2025
"Residents are now being evicted from their neighborhoods and watching their cities become theme parks," minister Pablo Bustinduy said
More: https://t.co/HU89dhAXKF pic.twitter.com/WdhD4mNqkr
In its appeal, Airbnb is likely to reference a 2022 Spanish Supreme Court decision which concluded that hosts—not the platform—are responsible for listing information, affirming Airbnb’s role as a “neutral intermediary,” not a real estate provider.
Protests are expected to persist and grow. In Majorca, the group Menys Turisme, Més Vida (Less tourism, more life) is planning a protest for 15 June.
The ICRT.global offers a course on Addressing Overtourism and Managing Success, written by Harold Goodwin. Professional Certificate in Managing Overtourism – International Centre for Responsible Tourism global
