Tough new tourism laws in Spain’s Andalucia threaten fines of up to €600,000 – CSN

Louise Brown February 19, 2025 Costa del Sol, HEADLINES, Travel Leave a comment

SPAIN’s Andalucia could introduce tough new laws and fines of up €600,000 on tourism.

A new Sustainable Tourism Law set to come into force in Andalucia could see illegal tourist flats slapped with fines of up to €600,000.

The regulation received preliminary approval this Tuesday and increases fines for ‘unregulated tourist activity’ in all categories.

Since Covid-19, the anti-tourism sentiment in Spain has worsened.
The Olive Press

The latest technology will be used to improve the inspection methods.

For serious infractions, fines will change from between €2,000-18,000 to €10,000-100,000.

Meanwhile, very serious infractions will go from €18,000-150,000 to €100,000-600,000.

The law also gives local councils power to either allow or deny homeowners the use of their properties as villas or holiday flats.

Apartments and villas are also classified under the same umbrella category as other tourist accommodations, such as hotels.

Now they are subject to the Tourism Law, where before they were not.

Arturo Bernal is the spokesperson for Junta.

The new regulations, which replace the 2012 law will include a section that regulates tourist villas and flats.

It is important to declare the use of a property as a holiday accommodation and register all guests.

There will be designated areas for tourists, apart from the residential zones.

“The law hopes that it will honour our past and transform our future.” Andalucia is a good example of how you can respect your local identity, preserve our heritage and create sustainable tourism opportunities. Andalucia’s importance to the Spanish economy will be established, as well as its employment potential.

First time in the history of the country, a tourism governance and policy is included to control the flow of tourists and locals living together in popular tourist destinations.

A 100 000-person minimum population requirement for establishing a touristic municipality has been removed.

It is thought this goes hand in hand with plans to promote rural tourism aimed at ‘diversifying local economies’.

The Junta and local councils are encouraged to work together and communicate better.

The Observatory for Local and Sustainable Tourism (OLT) will work in collaboration with local authorities, Andalucian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces and Andalucian Business Federation.