Catalonia has nearly 800,000 tourist beds, roughly one bed for every ten inhabitants

Catalonia has 776,176 tourist accommodations, according to the Catalonia Tourism Registry of the Department of Business, as reviewed by ACN in June. For a territory with a population of a little over 8 million people, that is roughly equivalent to one bed for every ten inhabitants. 

The list includes hotels, campsites, tourist homes, rural lodgings, and tourist apartments. In 90 municipalities, there are more beds available for tourists than registered residents; in some places, the number of beds is six times higher than the number of locals.  

Barcelona has the most offerings in the territory, with 91,901 registered accommodations. The Catalan capital has a total of 11,227 establishments for visitors, meaning each one can accommodate an average of eight people. Nine out of ten accommodations are in hotels.  

The seaside town of Salou, located in the Tarragona province, has more tourists beds than registered residents — with 42,222 beds distributed across 7,290 establishments, representing 5% of Catalonia's overall. The county of Tarragonès, including Salou, Tarragona, and Vila-seca, ranks third in overall accommodation supply, matching Barcelona city.

Summer tourism reshapes Camp de Tarragona 

Aaron Gutiérrez, director of the Department of Geography at Rovira and Virgili University (URV), told ACN that tourism has visible effects on Camp de Tarragona — the area surrounding the county of Tarragonès. In summer, cities are "completely reconfigured." 

“We can see the effects in energy and water consumption, mobility, housing demand," he said. "The impact is very noticeable." 

In the summer, public transport demand in towns like Cambrils (with 18,538 beds) and Salou increases greatly. Tourists move much more and require more transportation services. Internal transport is also important, as tourism creates jobs and draws in more workers.  

The increase in people puts "a lot of pressure" on local infrastructure, calling for adaptations like parking zone expansions, which Gutierrez sees as a positive change.  

“The high summer demand makes private public transportation concessions viable year-round, helping to sustain these public services,” he explained. 

Housing Challenges and Unregulated Accommodation 

In towns like Cambrils, where almost all registered residents could fit into the tourist beds, second homes are incredibly common. 

“In the case of vacation-only use, there are both costs and benefits — such as tax revenue or economic activity,” Gutiérrez said.  

But with these tourist accommodations, be it with hotel beds, campsites or apartments, there are still challenges. Gutiérrez believes the answer is responding to the "floating population" properly.  

“Tourist taxes, whether municipal or from the Catalan government, should be reinvested in the municipalities and regions affected to mitigate impact and maximize benefits,” he argued. He believes that tourism should be factored in mobility, housing, and regional planning policies.  

Baix Empordà offers as many beds as Barcelona city 

The Costa Brava is another hotspot for tourist accommodation. Half of the top ten Catalan municipalities by number of beds are along the Girona coast. By county, Baix Empordà ranks second to Barcelonès, approaching 100,000 beds. Most accommodations in this county are campsites.  

In the town of Sant Pere Pescador in the Girona region, there are 13,421 beds for a population of 2,207. That's six tourist beds for every local resident. Agustí Badosa, mayor of Sant Pere Pescador, told ACN that the town "is not under strain." 

"We do notice movement when tourists arrive or leave," Badosa said. "But we have good relations with them." 

Badosa even believes that the town benefits from the number of tourists.  

“The type of people who visit are curious," he said.  "They want to discover the area. They come into town to eat or shop, and for example, you see a lot of people cycling from the campsites to the weekly market.”

Spokesperson for the Sant Pere Pescador Campsite Association and the deputy director of the Ballena Alegre campsite, Àlex Trias said they've "never experienced stain," quite the opposite. Many businesses benefit from the campsites, including bike, kayak and caravan rentals. The town and region also see a boost in employment from the tourism industry. Trias also noted that guests are very respectful, which "makes coexistence much easier."

In 1984, the Aiguamolls de l'Empordà wetlands in Sant Pere Pescador were declared a nature park, preventing construction in the area. Trias believes this preservation is key to the area's popularity.  

Many of the tourists in Sant Pere Pescador are families from Germany and the Netherlands, who return year after year. This consistent flow of tourists has allowed the number of beds to not change much over time.  

Counties with more tourist beds than residents 

Pallars Sobirà and Alta Ribagorça are the only two Catalan counties with more tourist beds than residents. Municipalities like Vall de Boí (Alta Ribagorça) and Espot (Pallars Sobirà) have nearly twice as many beds as people. Both towns are near ski resorts and are gateways to the Aigüestortes i Estany de Sant Maurici National Park. 

Vall de Boi's mayor Sònia Bruguera now has a demographic challenge expert working on housing. After a census was drawn, the results found that there were over 2,000 homes, but only 24% were primary residences, while 66% were second homes.  

The municipality has over 400 tourist-use homes, a number that must be significantly reduced by 2028. Bruguera believes the solution is to expand the regional housing pool, allowing the area to offer affordable housing year-round. The goal is to encourage long-term rentals rather than tourist-use properties.  

In Naut Aran, a municipality in Aran with fewer than 2,000 inhabitants, there are more than 1,300 tourist apartment licenses. A new government regulation now caps the number of licenses at 10 per 100 residents. Mayor Cèsar Ruiz believes that this limit should have been introduced when municipalities were first allowed to issue licenses. 

To address the housing shortage, Aran's Urban Planning Committee approved a plan in September 2024 to build public housing, which will serve seasonal ski workers and local youth. The housing shortage has also led to a rise in motorhomes, which have been banned in all local areas since the last ski season.   

Across Catalonia, the town with the highest ratio of tourist beds to residents is Castellar del Riu in Berguedà. With 1,130 beds — almost all in campsites — and just 163 residents, there are nearly seven beds per inhabitant.