Ibiza’s tourist council has expanded inspections and opened around 400 sanction proceedings since January 2025. Mariano Juan credits cooperation with Airbnb, Booking.com and Vrbo for helping tackle unlicensed holiday accommodation.
Ibiza’s island council has reported a 44% reduction in holiday rental property listings online between August 2024 and May 2026, as part of its efforts to crack down on illegal tourist accommodation.
Mariano Juan, Ibiza’s Councillor for Territory, Tourism Planning and the Fight Against Illegal Tourism, defended the strategy on Friday during a visit to Menorca, arguing that the authorities must act on online listings before illegal accommodation is actually offered to tourists.
Juan presented the council’s measures at the 3rd National Congress on Business Law and Tourism Activity, held on 15 and 16 October at the Claustre del Carme in Maó, Menorca. He took part in a panel discussion on unfair competition alongside commercial law specialists from several Spanish universities.
Online holiday rental listings in Ibiza fall by 44%
One of the main arguments Juan put forward in support of the council’s approach was the decline in accommodation advertised on major holiday rental platforms.
According to figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE) presented at the congress, the number of properties advertised in Ibiza fell from more than 4,100 in August 2024 to around 2,300 in May 2026, a decrease of 44%.
The number of advertised tourist beds also declined over the same period, falling by 40%, from more than 28,000 to fewer than 18,000.
Juan attributed these results to the council’s work with digital platforms, which began with Airbnb and was subsequently extended to Booking.com and Vrbo. The cooperation aims to identify listings and verify whether the accommodation being marketed complies with the law.
However, these figures cover the total number of properties advertised on the platforms and should not be interpreted as the number of illegal holiday rentals identified.
During his presentation, Juan defended a shift in the council’s approach: rather than relying solely on inspections and penalties after an infringement has occurred, the aim is to intervene earlier and prevent illegal accommodation from being marketed in the first place.
Illegal tourist accommodation puts pressure on Ibiza
Juan warned that illegal holiday rentals not only create unfair competition for businesses that comply with tourism regulations, but also increase Ibiza’s accommodation capacity outside the island’s tourism planning framework.
According to the councillor, this has wider consequences for traffic and mobility, natural resources, public services and the quality of life of local residents.
He recalled that, in 2024, an estimated 17,500 tourist beds in Ibiza were being marketed illegally through digital platforms — a figure almost equivalent to the island’s entire legal supply of beds in tourist rental properties.
Technology helps identify up to 30 suspicious listings a day
Juan also highlighted the technological improvements introduced to strengthen tourism inspections and identify potential breaches of the rules.
The island council has developed a monitoring system that combines the geolocation of online listings with the locations of legally registered tourist establishments and cross-checks information from different databases. The process also includes verifying photographs and registration numbers.
According to Juan, these tools enable the authorities to identify between 25 and 30 potentially irregular listings a day and speed up administrative checks, with a response time of approximately 48 hours.
He described improved traceability as one of the system’s main benefits. By identifying the properties being advertised and checking their administrative status, inspectors can respond more quickly to possible breaches of tourism regulations.
More inspectors and around 400 sanction proceedings
The crackdown on illegal tourist activity has also involved an increase in the staff responsible for inspections and enforcement proceedings.
Since 2023, the number of tourism and transport inspectors employed by Ibiza’s island council has risen from nine to 14, while the number of staff responsible for handling enforcement cases has increased from four to nine.
According to figures released by the council, these additional resources have contributed to the opening of around 400 sanction proceedings linked to illegal tourist accommodation since 1 January 2025.
Juan also highlighted cooperation with digital platforms, tourism industry associations and professional organisations. This collaboration initially took place through working groups and was subsequently channelled through the Mesa del Intrusismo, a permanent forum designed to exchange information, monitor changes in the accommodation market and coordinate enforcement action.
The councillor argued that combining technology, cooperation with online platforms and increased public-sector resources has strengthened the administration’s ability to monitor tourist accommodation across the island.
Ibiza targets illegal rentals, not the legal tourism market
Juan stressed that the aim is not to reduce the supply of legally operating tourist accommodation, but to take action against properties being marketed outside the rules and the island’s tourism planning framework.
He concluded that tackling illegal holiday rentals is essential both to ensure fair competition among tourism businesses and to prevent unauthorised accommodation from adding further pressure to Ibiza’s territory, natural resources and public services.