The Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona are in the top 15 of international travellers’ favourite cities in the world for long stays. This was reported earlier this week by rental platform Airbnb.
The number of long-term stays by families increased by 75% between the summer of 2019 and the summer of 2021. It is mainly the smaller cities that are seeing the greatest increase in interest. Furthermore, this is from people who want to stay there longer or are considering permanent residency.
According to Airbnb, 16% of searches by Spanish travellers between 1 January and 30 September 2021 involved stays of more than four weeks. That’s almost double compared to the same period in 2019. In the third quarter of 2021, overnight stays booked by Spanish guests in domestic destinations increased by 65%. This is compared to the third quarter of 2019. One in five overnights booked during 2021 were for stays of 28 days or longer.
These cities are ‘cheap’ or excel in hospitality
The Spanish cities where landlords give the highest discounts for stays of a month or more are León, Burgos, Cuenca and Toledo, the capitals of the provinces of the same name.
The ‘most hospitable’ cities in Spain for longer stays, according to Airbnb, are Oviedo (province of Asturias), Lloret de Mar (Girona), Arrecife (on Lanzarote) and La Oliva (on Fuerteventura).
Spaniards prefer to ‘telework’ in their own country
Globally, in the third quarter of 2021, one in five nights was booked for a stay of over 28 days. Since the corona pandemic, there has also been a worldwide trend to telecommute.
Spaniards ‘prefer to stay in their country’ when teleworking. Seven of the top destinations they prefer are in Spain. The most sought-after areas are cities on the Mediterranean coast and in the Canary Islands.
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