Planning a Trip to Spain This Summer? The New Rules Every Visitor Should Know

Spain has never been more popular. The country welcomed a record 94 million international visitors in 2024, a 10 per cent jump on the year before, and tourists spent around €126 billion, equivalent to roughly 13 per cent of the national economy. That success has a flip side: overtourism has strained housing and public services in the busiest spots, and 2024 saw waves of anti-tourism protests in cities and on the islands.

In response, authorities are introducing a patchwork of new measures at national, regional and city level. None of them amount to a ban on tourism, but together they change how you should budget and prepare. If Spain is on your summer list, it pays to know the rules before you book.

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What you need to enter Spain in 2025

If you are travelling from the EU, the EEA or the wider Schengen area, entry remains simple: a valid national identity card or passport is enough, and there is no limit on how long you can stay, though you should register with the authorities if you plan to remain for more than 90 days.

Non-EU visitors, including those from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States, face tighter border checks. Your passport must be valid for at least three months beyond your departure date, and officers can ask for up to five further documents. New for 2025, you may be asked at the border to show proof of travel insurance, a return or onward ticket, evidence of sufficient funds, and confirmation of a hotel booking. If you are staying in your own property you can show proof of address instead, and if you are staying with friends or family you may need a 'carta de invitación'.

On top of this, the long-planned ETIAS travel authorisation is expected to come into force in the middle of 2025. It will cost €7, is applied for online, and remains valid for three years. Requirements vary by nationality, so our Spain entry guide sets out who needs what before they travel.

Accommodation rules and tourist taxes

Short-term rentals are the front line of Spain's overtourism debate. They are not banned nationally, but they are being heavily restricted. Malaga has barred new holiday rentals in 43 neighbourhoods, while Barcelona plans to shut down all 10,000 of its licensed short-term lets and phase out tourist apartments entirely by 2028. From 2 January, anyone listing a property nationwide needs to join a new register and obtain a permit, and providers must collect their guests' personal data.

Tourist taxes are also climbing. Barcelona doubled its levy in 2025, combining city and regional charges so that guests in luxury hotels can pay up to around €15 a night including VAT, with cruise passengers charged €6. The Balearic Islands are raising their overnight charge from €4 to €6, peaking in the June to August high season and at top-end properties. Mógan, on Gran Canaria, introduced a charge of €0.15 per person per day in January, and Santiago de Compostela and Toledo are bringing in levies of roughly €1 to €2.50. Reassuringly, most of this paperwork falls on accommodation providers rather than on travellers themselves.

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Behaviour rules and fines to know

Several destinations are also cracking down on disruptive behaviour. From 1 June, Barcelona bans organised pub crawls in the Eixample district, extending a ban that has applied in the old town since 2012. Across the Balearics, popular resorts including Llucmajor, parts of Palma, Calvià and Magaluf, and San Antonio in Ibiza restrict alcohol: there is no drinking in the street, shops cannot sell alcohol between 9.30pm and 8am, and fines range from €750 to €3,000. Hiring a car now requires the same documentation as checking into a hotel.

Local rules add further detail. Sóller, in Mallorca, bans tourist driving in its low-emission town centre, while Torrox on the Costa del Sol approved a ban on beach tents and gazebos on 24 February. Smoking and vaping bans on beaches are spreading along the coast, and Malaga has proposed raising the fine for urinating in the sea from €300 to €750. Checking the rules for your specific destination is the simplest way to avoid an unexpected penalty.