Spain's minister backs city-by-city holiday let bans

Holiday lets could disappear from some Spanish cities: tourism minister Jordi Hereu says they should be regulated or eliminated according to local needs. He made the case at the sixth Turespaña convention in Zaragoza on Wednesday, 21 October 2026, and also backed tourist taxes.

Hereu said regional and local governments are responsible for setting the rules. Limiting holiday lets, he argued, can help protect the relationship between tourism and residents. He said tourism policy must consider workers and business owners as well as visitors.

He wants cities and regions to use tourist tax revenue to offset tourism’s negative effects and improve people’s quality of life. He announced no specific new ban or tax.

Hereu also wants tourism spread more evenly across the year and into less-visited regions. He said travel outside the summer is growing faster than summer travel. According to Hereu, Spain’s government has invested 3,500 million euros in changing its tourism model, including almost 200 million euros for projects in Aragón aimed at spreading tourism across the seasons.

Topics: Tourism

Source: Europa Press / Mallorca.com