Barcelona’s policy of forcing guests to stay in hotels instead of with local families will not only fail to ease overtourism, it will actively make it worse. As visitor numbers continue to rise and accommodation options outside of tourist hotspots fall, tourism crowding in the city’s busy hotel districts will increase.
History has already shown this to be true. Citing overtourism concerns, Amsterdam and Barcelona both introduced restrictions on short-term rentals in 2018, driving a sharp decrease in local short-term rental numbers. Yet by 2024, total guest nights in both cities had increased significantly, growing by 2.4 million in Amsterdam and 4.8 million in Barcelona. In the post-Covid recovery period from 2021 to 2024, hotels accounted for 93 percent of the increase in guest nights in Amsterdam, and 76 percent in Barcelona. Hotel occupancy and prices subsequently soared, with prices rising by 50 percent in Amsterdam and 35 percent in Barcelona between 2019 and spring 2025.
Where Airbnb is restricted, local families and communities suffer. Almost half of hosts globally say the income they earn from hosting helps them afford their homes. And while hotel guests spend money in hotels, for every dollar guests spend on Airbnb in the EU, they spend an average of $2.50 in the local community. Across France, Germany, Italy and Spain, travel on Airbnb contributed a total of $44.6 billion to GDP and supported almost 630,000 jobs in 2024 alone.
Where Airbnb is restricted, local families and communities suffer. Almost half of hosts globally say the income they earn from hosting helps them afford their homes.
We believe that Airbnb is part of the solution to overtourism because our platform offers a different way to travel. While hotel guests flock to the same cities year after year, the majority of guest nights on Airbnb in the EU — almost 60 percent — were spent outside of cities. Unlike hotels, Airbnb does not rely on major cities for growth. In fact, guest nights on our platform grew faster outside of cities last year. Across the ten most visited EU cities in 2024, over 260,000 Airbnb guests stayed in a neighborhood without a hotel. Airbnb stays in these communities grew by roughly 60 percent between 2022 and 2024. This signals increasing interest from Airbnb guests in locations outside of overcrowded city centers.
We believe that Airbnb is part of the solution to overtourism because our platform offers a different way to travel. While hotel guests flock to the same cities year after year, the majority of guest nights on Airbnb in the EU — almost 60 percent — were spent outside of cities.
Airbnb wants to partner with governments at all levels on solutions to overtourism, based on clear data. We believe we are uniquely positioned to provide a more sustainable model for tourism because our 5 million hosts distribute guests and tourism proceeds across communities more evenly than hotels.
Tourism that supports hosting makes families and communities stronger. We want to work with governments on a new model for tourism and make it easier — not harder — for families to share their homes. In doing so, tourism can be more sustainable and help more families afford their homes.