Heatwave shifts Spain tourism as northern regions lead summer demand

Tourists are escaping the heat: Northern Spain has emerged as the top destination of the summer season

The heat is changing travel preferences in Spain: the north of the country is becoming the top destination for summer vacations. According to data from the Rentalia platform, by August, tourists had booked nearly 90% of short-term rental properties along the Spanish coast.

Summer accommodations in Mallorca are nearly sold out, with 99% of properties already booked. Among the most popular destinations are also Asturias (95.6%), Menorca (94.6%), Lanzarote (93.5%), and the coast of the province of Alicante (92.2%), according to Idealista.

The north has led in demand all summer. Amid a prolonged heatwave in the central and southern parts of the country, more and more travelers are opting for the cooler climate of the Bay of Biscay coast. In Asturias and Cantabria, annual booking rates have increased by more than 4 percentage points, making them among the fastest-growing tourist destinations of the season.

“The climate is becoming an increasingly important factor when choosing a vacation destination,” notes Almudena Ucha, director of Rentalia. “Houses and apartments remain among the most popular types of accommodations for summer vacations, and tourists are increasingly looking not only for proximity to the sea but also for more comfortable weather conditions.”

Properties with additional amenities are in high demand. As of early August, 86.7% of houses and apartments with air conditioning and 85% of properties with swimming pools were booked. Interest in domestic tourism also remains strong: the booking rate for rural homes and farm stays reached 87.6%.

The most significant year-over-year increase in demand was recorded on the Costa Calida in the Murcia region, where occupancy rose from 80.6% to 89.1%. Interest has also grown significantly in Fuerteventura—from 77.7% to 85.5%—as well as in Gran Canaria, where the figure rose from 75.9% to 82.6%.

At the same time, some popular resorts are showing the opposite trend. In Tenerife, the booking rate fell from 75.2% to 72.4%, and a slight decline in demand was also noted along the Almería coast and the Costa Brava.

Despite the high booking rates, options for last-minute getaways are still available. The widest selection remains on the Costa de la Luz in the province of Huelva, where less than half of the accommodations—44.7%—are booked. Occupancy rates for vacation rentals remain relatively low in Tenerife, the province of Valencia, the Costa Dorada, and the Barcelona coast.