Tourist-use housing (TUH) have emerged as one of the most significant urban phenomena in Spain over the past decade. Their expansion, accelerated by the rise of short-term rental platforms, has transformed the residential market in numerous cities and generated tensions between tourist and residential uses. Cities in northern Spain, with well-established cultural, gastronomic and landscape offerings, have experienced notable growth in this form of accommodation, which has found in the gaps of the existing legal and urban planning framework a favourable context for largely unregulated expansion.
This paper presents the results of an analysis conducted at multiple territorial scales in Asturias. At the regional scale, the distribution and relative weight of TUH in each municipality are characterised, and specific regulatory measures are proposed. At the municipal scale, the study focuses on several local authorities with differing contexts: on the one hand, the major urban centres of Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés; and on the other, the municipality of Llanes. The latter is characterised by a smaller registered population, a more dispersed settlement pattern, a marked tourism specialisation, and a significant increase in seasonal population during the summer period.
Based on this analysis, the paper outlines a range of instruments and measures proposed to improve the regulation of this use at different scales. In particular, it examines the potential of general planning instruments and special plans, alongside the proposal of synthetic indicators, zoning measures, density limitations, and control mechanisms for the implementation of new TUH within established residential areas.
