Hotels named as main cause of overtourism in EU, says Airbnb

US: New data from online accommodation platform Airbnb is challenging assumptions about short-term rentals and overtourism, suggesting that traditional hotels remain the dominant force behind growing tourist volumes across the European Union.

According to Airbnb’s latest report, Overtourism in the EU, nearly 80 per cent of guest nights in EU destinations in 2024 were spent in hotels or similar accommodation, while short-term rentals accounted for 22 per cent. In the ten most visited cities – including Paris, Rome and Barcelona – hotels hosted over five times more guest nights than Airbnb listings.

The findings suggest that restricting short-term rentals may have limited impact on managing overtourism. In cities such as Amsterdam and Barcelona, where tighter regulations have been introduced, tourism numbers have continued to rise, while affordable accommodation options have decreased.

The report also highlights the role of cruise and airline activity in driving visitor growth. Between 2022 and 2023, cruise passenger numbers increased by more than 50 per cent in cities including Barcelona, Amsterdam and Lisbon.

Airbnb said that short-term rentals could help alleviate pressure on popular destinations by providing flexible capacity during peak seasons and offering accommodation beyond overcrowded city centres. In 2024, 59 per cent of Airbnb guest nights in the EU were in locations outside major cities.

Within cities, Airbnb listings were also more widely dispersed across neighbourhoods compared to hotels, which were primarily concentrated in historic cores.

To support more balanced tourism, Airbnb pointed to initiatives such as encouraging Parisians to host visitors during the 2024 Olympics, partnering with the Vatican ahead of the 2025 Jubilee in Rome, and funding rural tourism projects in Ireland, Spain and Italy.

“Targeting short-term rentals as a means to address these concerns is ineffective and potentially counterproductive,” the company said. “Instead, short-term rentals can and should be a solution for dispersing tourism and providing the benefits of tourism to the local communities which desire it.”

Recent headlines have seen a wave of protests across the EU against the rise of short-term rentals in city hotspots, with protestors citing STRs at the main cause of overtourism. Barcelona’s deputy mayor  recently announced that she is preparing measures to hit back at the wave of “illegal” tourist listings in the city and to hold Airbnb responsible for the failure to remove 800 reportedly illegal listings.

Takeaways:

• Hotels account for five times more overnight stays than short-term rentals in EU cities, Airbnb report shows.

• Airbnb says travel dispersal and flexible accommodation can help ease overtourism in European hotspots.

• Cruise ships and hotel growth, not STRs, are the primary drivers of rising tourist numbers, according to new data.

• The data has arrived at a time where cities across the EU are campaigning against short-term rentals, citing them as the main cause of overtourism in city hotspots.