Rural and Secondary Destinations Absorb Europe's Overtourism Pressure
Official data from Spain, Italy and Portugal show demand moving to the countryside and small towns.
New official statistics from across southern Europe show tourism demand moving toward rural areas and smaller destinations, as governments work to ease pressure on their most saturated cities. Spain’s rural accommodation sector grew overnight stays 2.7% year on year in August 2026, driven by international guests. Italy’s small municipalities outpaced the national market in the first seven months of the year, and Portugal’s rural and country house segment posted near 7% growth in 2025. At the same time, France and Greece are building planning frameworks designed to spread visitor flows before new hotspots form.
The figures at a glance
| Country | Metric | Figure | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spain | Rural overnight stays, August 2026 | n/a | +2.7% YoY |
| Spain | Non-resident rural overnight stays, August 2026 | n/a | +12.1% YoY |
| Italy | Overnight stays in small municipalities, January to July 2026 | n/a | +4.4% vs 2025 |
| Italy | Arrivals in small municipalities, January to July 2026 | n/a | +5.6% vs 2025 |
| Portugal | Rural and country house overnight stays, 2025 | 3.3 million | +6.9% YoY |
| Portugal | Rural and country house guests, 2025 | 1.5 million | +6.7% YoY |
Spain: international guests lift rural demand
| Indicator | August 2026 |
|---|---|
| Overnight stays | +2.7% year on year |
| Resident overnight stays | -0.9% |
| Non-resident overnight stays | +12.1% |
| Bed place occupancy | 43.0%, up 1.7% |
| Weekend occupancy | 48.9%, up 7.9% |
| Leading region | Castilla y León, more than 314,000 overnight stays (+2.3%) |
| Highest occupancy | Balearic Islands, 75.1% |
| Leading tourist area | Mallorca, more than 218,000 overnight stays and 74.3% occupancy |
Domestic demand for rural stays softened slightly, so the growth came entirely from foreign travellers, who are increasingly booking beyond the coast and the big cities.
Italy: small towns outpace the national market
Small municipalities recorded 5.6% more arrivals and 4.4% more overnight stays between January and July 2026 than in the same period of 2025. The strongest gains came from regions with limited exposure to mass urban tourism.
| Region | Overnight stays growth in small municipalities, Jan to Jul 2026 |
|---|---|
| Abruzzo | +10.9% |
| Piedmont | +9.8% |
| Marche | +9.4% |
| Puglia | +8.1% |
On arrivals, Lazio (+10.9%), Friuli-Venezia Giulia (+9.9%), Abruzzo (+9.6%) and Piedmont (+9.0%) led the ranking.
Portugal: rural supply and demand both expand
| Indicator | 2025 | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Establishments | 2,054 | +3.4% |
| Rooms | 16,200 | +3.8% |
| Beds | 35,700 | +4.4% |
| Guests | 1.5 million | +6.7% |
| Overnight stays | 3.3 million | +6.9% |
| Non-resident overnight stays | n/a | +10.3% |
| Share of stays in North, Alentejo and Centre | 65.1% | n/a |
| Share of stays in July to September | 42.9% | n/a |
Demand grew faster than supply, which points to firmer occupancy for existing rural operators. Germany is the leading international market, followed by France, Spain, the United States and the Netherlands.
France and Greece: planning ahead of the pressure
| Country | Framework | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| France | National strategy for managing tourist flows, adopted in 2023 | Around 80% of tourism activity is concentrated on 20% of the territory. The strategy supports 25 pilot sites testing tools to spread visitor flows in time and space. |
| Greece | Special Spatial Planning Framework for Tourism, in force since 7 August 2026 | Classifies land into five tiers by tourism intensity, from Controlled Development Areas to Special Development Support Areas, with stricter hotel plot sizes in the most pressured areas and a 25 metre coastal no-build zone. |
Greece’s framework also enables tighter local rules on short-term rentals in areas under pressure, including conditions such as main residence use, limits on the number of months a property can be let, zones where the activity is restricted or banned, and caps on new supply.
Why it matters
For STR operators and investors, the data confirms that growth is moving from regulated urban cores such as Barcelona, Venice and central Lisbon toward rural and secondary destinations, where licensing has so far been lighter. The opportunity comes with a clear caveat: the planning tools now being built in France and Greece are designed to manage these areas before they saturate, so early entrants should expect licensing and supply rules to follow demand.
Cover photo: Neer Naor on Unsplash.
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Scale Team
Editorial Team · Scale Rentals Organisation
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