{"id":523,"date":"2026-02-13T22:40:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:40:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lic.dps.media\/?p=523"},"modified":"2026-02-13T22:40:34","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T15:40:34","slug":"worlds-second-most-visited-country-shifts-focus-to-sustainable-tourism-amid-record-arrivals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lic.dps.media\/en\/worlds-second-most-visited-country-shifts-focus-to-sustainable-tourism-amid-record-arrivals\/","title":{"rendered":"World’s second most visited country shifts focus to sustainable tourism amid record arrivals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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World’s second most visited country shifts focus to sustainable tourism amid record arrivals<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

By Hoang Vu <\/a>   February 11, 2026 | 03:20 pm PT<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"World's<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tourists enjoy the beach at the Mediterranean Sea in Lloret de Mar, Spain, July 11, 2025. Photo by Reuters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spain is seeking to rebalance tourism and daily life after a record influx of visitors in 2025 intensified pressure on housing and living costs for residents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The country welcomed 96.8 million foreign tourists last year, a 3.2% increase from 2024, making it the second most visited country globally, behind France with 105 million visitors, according to figures released on Feb. 3 by the National Statistics Institute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the surge underscores the sector\u2019s strong recovery, it has also fueled growing public dissatisfaction, Euro News <\/em>reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Residents in major destinations have raised concerns about overcrowding, rising house prices, limited housing supply, and the strain on resources such as water, particularly where tourism infrastructure has expanded, Reuters<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many also say higher living costs mean they can no longer afford holidays in their own resort areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

City centers have been especially affected, as the spread of short-term rentals has reduced long-term housing availability and driven up rents, adding to tensions between locals and visitors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spain’s tourism ministry said in a statement the increase in visitor numbers and spending aligns with its goal of transforming the sector into a more sustainable model that prioritizes quality over quantity, aiming to reduce social and environmental pressures while maintaining economic benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The “quality over quantity” approach is already evident in Spanish cities, which have moved to cap the number of licenses issued for short-term rentals, issued guidelines to visitors on meeting local etiquette expectations, and tightened rules on public behavior — including bans on smoking on beaches, according to Travel Tomorrow<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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