Spain receives in July 11.5 million tourists who increase their spending by 10.9%, up to 18.218 million.

The Government of Spain is directing the national tourism strategy to “govern the success” of the sector: accepting that spending and arrivals will continue to grow, but modulating where, when, and how that growth occurs. The next steps are structured around the Spain Tourism Strategy 2030, its 2026‑2027 Biennial Plan, the massive digitalization of destinations and companies, and new tools to manage tourism pressure, especially in housing and saturated destinations.

Spain Tourism Strategy 2030 and 2026‑2027 Biennial Plan

The Spain Tourism Strategy 2030, approved by the Council of Ministers in October 2025, sets 15 goals and a Government Plan with 5 programs, 50 measures, and 148 actions that will be deployed in the coming years (official note). The 2026‑2027 Biennial Plan, coordinated by the State Secretariat for Tourism, specifies this deployment and has already activated around 45% of the planned instruments.

Key upcoming steps include:

• Early Response Committee in Tourism, included in the 2026‑2027 Biennial Plan, to manage crises affecting large visitor flows (for example, geopolitical or climate shocks) (Demócrata).
• Destination Regeneration Program, to transform established destinations and improve their climate, environmental, and social sustainability.
• Strengthening the axis of triple sustainability (economic, social, and environmental) as a cross-cutting criterion for all tourism policies.

Flow management, “overtourism,” and tourist housing

To manage the increase in foreign tourists and their impact on the territory, the 2030 Strategy combines destination governance, data, and regulation:

• Creation of a Tourism Intensity Atlas, fed by a Tourist Housing Observatory, to have detailed information on tourism pressure and help decide limits and uses (Demócrata).
• Implementation of a single registry of tourist accommodations for all homes marketed on platforms, so that autonomous communities can identify illegal supply and better organize the offer (Moncloa, 06/11/2024).
• Policies of territorial deconcentration: the aim is for spending to grow more in non-traditional communities than in the six main ones (Andalusia, Madrid, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Balearic Islands, and Canary Islands). Turespaña's forecasts for summer 2026 already point to spending growth rates of 8‑10% in less touristic regions, compared to 5‑6% in the main ones (Moncloa, 07/06/2026).
• Seasonal adjustment: the summer forecast notes for 2025 and 2026 emphasize that the growth in arrivals is greater in “low” months (January‑April, November) than in peak season, aiming to spread flows throughout the year (note 07/04/2025).

Quality of spending, diversification, and high-value tourism

In tourism balance hearings (for example, January 2026), Minister Jordi Hereu insists that the priority is for spending to grow more than arrivals, “prioritizing quality over quantity” and consolidating high value-added tourism (2025 balance). The next steps in this line are:

• Responsible marketing to diversify demand geographically, temporally, and motivationally, attracting profiles with higher spending and more sensitive to sustainability.
• Promotion of high-value segments (business, MICE, cultural, nature, scientific tourism) and long-haul markets such as the U.S., Canada, or Asia, which increase average spending and help combat seasonality.
• Support programs for investment in quality and sustainability, such as Royal Decree 638/2026 on aid for equipment renewal in hospitality, linked to energy efficiency and carbon footprint reduction (BOE).

Digitalization and data to manage growth

Managing the increase in tourists also relies on a strong digital agenda, funded with the Component 14 of the Recovery Plan (€3.4 billion for the tourism sector):

• Launch of the Intelligent Destination Platform (PID), which will function as a public digital infrastructure for more than 500 destinations and 25,000 SMEs, integrating data on mobility, spending, and behavior, and facilitating decisions on flows and services (PRTR, 06/26/2025).
• More than €225 million already invested in digitalization (Intelligent Platform, Last Mile program, Tourism Intelligence System, Network of Smart Tourist Destinations), with new calls planned (Industry and Tourism, 02/20/2025).
• Specific aid for tourism SMEs: the second call of Last Mile mobilizes €69 million for unique technological projects, and the State Secretariat plans to continue using this channel to improve productivity and sustainability at the business base (hearing 10/24/2024).

This entire agenda has been designed and described at the state level (Government of Spain and Ministry of Industry and Tourism). If interested, one can delve into how specific autonomous communities are aligning their own sustainability and promotion plans with this national strategy.

The management and promotion of tourism, including international tourism, is an area in which autonomous communities (ACs) such as the Balearic Islands and Catalonia have a very broad role, although not absolutely exclusive. It is typically an “autonomous” matter, but conditioned by the Constitution, the Statutes of Autonomy, and by state powers in related areas (foreign relations, immigration, basic economic legislation, etc.).

General constitutional framework

The Constitution allows ACs to assume powers in tourism promotion and regulation. In fact, almost all Statutes have done so, and in strongly touristic communities like the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, this power is formulated especially intensively. This means they can:

• Plan their own tourism policy.
• Regulate many aspects of tourism activity in their territory.
• Design and execute promotion strategies abroad.

However, the State retains powers that indirectly affect international tourism, such as:

• International relations and treaty signing.
• Border control, visas, and immigration policy.
• Basic legislation on economic regulation and competition defense.
• Coordination of general economic planning and basic transport policy (air, port, etc.).

Typical powers of touristic ACs (Balearic Islands and Catalonia)

Within this framework, communities like the Balearic Islands and Catalonia have generally assumed exclusive or very broad powers in:

• Tourism sector regulation: rules on classification of hotels and other accommodations, tourist apartments, tourist-use homes, travel agencies, intermediary companies, tour guides, etc.
• Territorial planning and regulation linked to tourism: definition of tourist zones, limitation of accommodation places, regulations on land uses related to tourism and their environmental impact.
• Quality and sustainability: rules on quality standards, waste management, energy efficiency of establishments, protection of the natural environment and cultural heritage linked to tourism.
• Tourism promotion in all markets, including international: own campaigns, presence at fairs, branding strategies (for example, “Balearic Islands” or “Catalonia” as differentiated destinations).
• Inspection and sanctioning: autonomous tourism inspection bodies, powers to impose sanctions for regulatory breaches, closures of establishments, etc.

International tourism: what ACs can do

Although formal international relations correspond to the State, ACs can carry out intense external projection activity in tourism matters:

• Participate in international tourism fairs with their own stand (for example, at FITUR, ITB Berlin, WTM London).
• Develop their own destination brands and specific campaigns for particular source markets (United Kingdom, Germany, Nordic countries, etc.).
• Maintain tourism promotion offices or delegations abroad, in coordination—or sometimes in parallel—with state offices (Turespaña).
• Sign collaboration agreements with airlines, tour operators, or other private agents to better position the destination in certain markets, always without invading state competence in civil aviation or formal foreign relations.
• Promote tourism diversification plans (cultural, sports, congress, gastronomic tourism) expressly aimed at international visitors.

This activity falls under what is called “autonomous external action,” allowed as long as it does not constitute its own foreign policy nor contradict that of the State. In practice, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia enjoy broad leeway to act in promotion, marketing, and attracting international tourist flows.

Coordination with the State

In international tourism, there is an evident need for multilevel coordination:

• The State, through Turespaña and the diplomatic and consular network, projects the Spain brand.
• Each community, with its institutions (such as tourism agencies or ministries), builds and disseminates its own destination image, aligned with or framed within that general strategy.
• In sensitive areas (flight quotas, security, health requirements, visas) the final competence lies with the State, but ACs influence through coordination and sector participation bodies.

In summary, touristic communities like the Balearic Islands and Catalonia have a decisive capacity to regulate, manage, and promote tourism, including international tourism, although always operating within the framework set by the Constitution, their Statutes, and the powers reserved to the State in foreign, security, and basic economic regulation matters.

For an autonomous community to regulate the arrival and spending of international tourists, it must operate within a very clear competential framework: the State retains the levers of border control, immigration, and economic foundations, while communities have broad scope in tourism, land use planning, housing, environment, and consumer protection. The practical key is that they can modulate how tourism activity develops in their territory, but they cannot decide who enters Spain nor limit the movement of people or services in a discriminatory way.

1. Exclusive powers of the State

The Constitution reserves to the State (art. 149.1 CE, among others) several decisive matters for international tourists:

• Borders, immigration, and foreign affairs: only the State can decide who enters or leaves Spain, visa conditions, border controls, or border closures. An autonomous community cannot prevent the entry of international tourists nor condition their access based on nationality.
• International relations: agreements with other countries on tourist flows, visas, recognition of health certificates, etc., are state competencies.
• Freedom of movement and economic foundations: the State sets the bases and coordination of general economic activity planning and must guarantee the free movement of people and services throughout the national territory and, within the EU framework, respect for the free provision of tourist services.
• General regime of foreign trade and bases of internal trade: conditions how far a community can go in imposing requirements on tourism operators, platforms, agencies, etc.
• Basic conditions of equality: the State sets the basic conditions that guarantee equality of all Spaniards (art. 149.1.1 CE), which prevents a community from establishing radically different treatments that undermine that equality.

2. Powers of autonomous communities

From there, communities, by virtue of the Constitution (art. 148 CE) and their statutes, usually assume:

• Tourism: they regulate the tourism offer, classify and regulate accommodations (hotels, apartments, tourist homes), recreational activities, and complementary services, and can approve sustainable tourism plans.
• Land use planning, urbanism, and housing: they can limit tourist use of homes in certain areas, set maximum accommodation densities, or declare saturated areas to preserve residential fabric.
• Environment: they can regulate capacities, schedules, or uses in beaches, natural spaces, or historic centers to protect natural resources and environmental quality.
• Consumer protection and internal trade: they regulate consumer rights, price transparency, information requirements, and certain schedules and conditions of commerce aimed at tourists.
• Autonomous and local finances: within the state framework, they can create tax figures such as tourist taxes or specific surcharges, respecting principles of economic capacity, generality, and non-confiscatoriness.

3. Margins to regulate arrival and spending of tourists

Within these limits, the main autonomous instruments (often also developed by municipalities) are:

• Sustainability plans and capacity limits: they can set maximum capacities in certain spaces (monuments, beaches, leisure areas) for reasons of safety, environment, or coexistence. However, they cannot “close the entrance” to tourists from certain countries nor condition access to the autonomous territory as such.
• Regulation and quotas of tourist accommodation: they can limit licenses for hotels or tourist homes in saturated neighborhoods, establish minimum distances between establishments, or set quality and sustainability standards.
• Tourist taxes: they can tax stays in accommodations or access to certain tourist services, provided the tax has a justification of general interest (financing cleaning, infrastructure, environmental protection) and respects state and European regulations (non-discrimination by nationality and proportionality).
• Measures on spending: they can encourage or discourage certain types of consumption (for example, binge tourism) through administrative sanctions, limitations on hours and alcohol sales, coexistence ordinances, or advertising regulation, always based on powers of citizen security, public health, consumer protection, and environment.

4. Material requirements and cross-cutting limits

Every autonomous measure must meet several requirements:

• Justification in a legitimate general interest: protection of the environment, public health, safety, public order, heritage protection, right to housing, or neighborhood coexistence.
• Proportionality: the measure must be suitable for the pursued goal, necessary (no less restrictive equally effective alternative), and balanced in its effects on economic activity and free movement.
• Non-discrimination: it cannot discriminate based on nationality nor among residents of different communities; the regulation must be objective and general.
• Respect for EU law: especially the free provision of services and freedom of movement within the Union, which condition restrictions on intra-community tourism.

In summary, autonomous communities cannot “close the door” to international tourists, but they can intensely condition how, where, and under what conditions their stay and spending develop, provided they act within their powers and respect the principles of equality, free movement, and proportionality.