The arrival of tourists by air is partly to blame for rising rents and house prices across Europe, but particularly in Spain. That is the argument put forward in a study by the New Economics Foundation (NEF), commissioned by the European Federation for Transport and Environment (T&E), and already backed by campaign groups against property speculation, which denounce the problems caused by short-term rentals and the purchase of homes by foreign buyers.
According to the analysis (source in Spanish), between 2019 and 2025 a correlation can be seen between the increase in tourists travelling by plane in seven European countries, especially in Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, and the rise in rents and house purchase prices. The reverse is also true, T&E argues: in those countries where this type of tourism has fallen (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland), house prices have also dropped, albeit moderately.
In Spain specifically, the 12.8% increase in tourists arriving by air over the past seven years is estimated to have pushed up the average purchase price of homes by €3,800 and added up to €236 more (1.7%) to rental prices. Rents could rise by a further €217 between now and 2031 as a result of this factor.
However, as we recalled in this other analysis of the Spanish housing situation by the Bank of Spain, the study stresses that “the impact will vary significantly between cities and regions depending on their tourist demand”. In other words, the same conclusions do not apply in the same way to central Valencia and to Lugo, for example.
The Bank of Spain’s own study had already highlighted the issue of homes used for tourist or seasonal rentals (around 400,000) or as second homes for Spaniards or foreigners, with an average of 50,000 dwellings bought each year. That, however, does not fully explain a problem that has become the biggest barrier to maintaining purchasing power in Spain and in other parts of the world.
The shortage of housing in the country (particularly in cities and autonomous communities under the greatest strain), together with bureaucratic hurdles, overlapping regulations between different levels of government, inadequate urban planning and a lack of labour, also act as drivers of price increases.
Rising prices and CO2 emissions, but not wages
The new T&E study also indicates that both Madrid-Barajas airport and El Prat in Barcelona are set to overtake Schiphol in Amsterdam in terms of tourist arrivals over the coming years. Barcelona, in particular, plans to expand its terminals through a controversial redesign that could affect the La Ricarda wetlands, although the regional government led by Salvador Illa insists the project has been reworked to ensure this does not happen.
Using data from Eurostat and media reports, analysts estimate that over the past five years there were 9.2 tourists for every resident in the Balearic Islands, 4.9 for every resident of the Canary Islands, and 2 for every inhabitant of Catalonia, while the European average stands at 0.9. They also point out that Spain has invested €12.9 billion in airport infrastructure at Barajas and El Prat.
They further note that, in 2025, Spain and Italy exceeded their pre-pandemic aviation emissions, standing 14% and 10% above 2019 levels respectively. The tourism sector, they say, was already responsible for 8.8% of global carbon emissions in 2019.
Moreover, wages and productivity are not growing at the same pace as tourist numbers. In 2023, the study notes, hospitality accounted for 10% of all hours worked in Spain but only 5% of national gross value added, indicating low productivity in the sector. In addition, between 2008 and 2024, real wages in Spain’s hospitality industry recorded a slight decline despite the sharp increase in foreign tourist arrivals and the progressive rise in the minimum wage over the past eight years.