The influx of tourists arriving by air is partly to blame for the rise in 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 platforms campaigning against property speculation, which denounce the problems around 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 demonstrated between the increase in tourists travelling by plane in seven European countries, particularly Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, and higher rents and house purchase prices. But the opposite also happens, T&E argues: in those countries where this type of tourism has declined (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland), house prices have also fallen, albeit moderately.
In Spain specifically, a 12.8% increase in air tourists over the past seven years is estimated to have driven an average rise of 3,800 euros in house purchase prices and of up to 236 euros more (1.7%) on rents. Rents could also increase by a further 217 euros between now and 2031 because of this factor.
