Touristification and Expansion of Short-Term Rentals in Mediterranean Destinations: The Case of Rural Areas

Abstract

This study analyses how the intensive use of short-term rentals (STRs) in the tourism sector contributes to the transformation and touristification of rural areas in mature tourist destinations, using the island of Mallorca, Spain, as a case study. Based on growth machine theory, the analysis innovatively examines the factors driving the expansion of STRs in rural spaces, with a focus on economic, social, and territorial dynamics. The research hypothesis is that the proliferation of STRs acts as a key element in rural touristification. Using a combination of spatial and temporal indicators, the study identifies patterns of intensification and dispersion of STRs in rural areas, offering a comparison with other Mediterranean destinations, particularly in Spain. The results show that STRs have generated significant spatial impacts, leading to the displacement of agricultural land use and increasing tensions within local communities, mainly due to rising housing prices. The study highlights the need to implement spatial planning policies that restrain the uncontrolled expansion of STRs, ensure sustainable tourism planning, and promote housing policies that protect residents from the negative effects of touristification. Various scenarios for the evolution of STRs are proposed depending on their regulation.

1. Introduction

Geography plays a crucial role in tourism analysis by exploring the spatial patterns of tourism activities and their impact on destination planning and management [1,2]. This approach has established itself as an essential component in understanding how tourism phenomena influence public policy and decision-making [3]. Along these lines, numerous studies [4,5,6,7] have analysed the territorial patterns of tourism activities, providing comprehensive information for the proper management and planning of destinations.

In the case of Mallorca (Spain), previous research [8,9,10] has documented how the supply of tourist accommodation has historically been concentrated in coastal areas, following the sun and beach model developed since the mid-20th century. Nevertheless, this territorial distribution has changed over time, especially as coastal destinations have reached a state of maturity, and the tourism sector has faced economic and financial crises. These challenges have prompted the public and private sectors to seek new areas of investment to adapt to changes in tourism demand and in the tourism sector in general [11].

In this context, Murray et al. [12] highlight that tourism crises have been addressed by incorporating new areas into tourism consumption, such as rural areas and less developed urban spaces. Among these strategies, the massive exploitation of short-term tourist accommodation (STR) has played a key role, facilitating the territorial expansion of tourism and promoting processes of touristification in previous marginal areas. This phenomenon accelerated after the 2008 financial crisis, when the commodification of tourist accommodation through collaborative platforms, such as Airbnb, became a solution to revitalise the sector.

This study aims to analyse growth strategies in mature tourist destinations in the Mediterranean, focusing on STRs. There is a knowledge gap on how growth strategies have specifically favoured the expansion of STRs in rural areas and how legal regulations have been developed to control this phenomenon, with reference to the legal regulations developed by the Balearic Islands and Mallorca.

The literature has addressed touristification in urban and coastal contexts, but less attention has been paid to the reconfiguration of tourism in rural areas, where the impact of STRs can generate different socio-economic and environmental effects. The impacts of STRs on islands are more intense.

This study addresses this gap by analysing spatio-temporal indicators to assess the evolution of STRs in Mallorca and their role in the touristification of rural areas. The uniqueness of this research lies in its comparative approach with other Mediterranean islands and areas, which allows the case of Mallorca to be contextualised in a broader framework. It is hoped that the findings will contribute to a better understanding of the role of STRs in the territorial expansion of tourism in consolidated destinations and provide relevant information for the sustainable planning of these spaces.

It is hypothesised that, in mature tourism destinations, growth strategies have prioritised the expansion of STRs as a mechanism to dynamise the sector, orienting this growth towards rural areas and consequently intensifying tourism development in these areas.

2. Literature Review and Spatial Context

2.1. Touristification

The academic literature reveals the absence of an agreed definition of the concept of touristification, which is often associated with terms such as overtourism or gentrification. Muselaers [13] describes touristification as a stage of touristic transformation in which a local space is transformed from its original state into a tourism-oriented environment. Freytag and Bauder [14] emphasise that touristification is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon that reflects the interaction between various actors and environments.

Touristification is understood as one of the multiple impacts of tourism on society. Authors such as Körössy-Leite [15] and Jover and Díaz-Parra [16] agree in defining it as a process of transformation of space towards a predominantly tourist use, with negative implications for local communities. According to Rio-Fernandes [17], touristification is characterised by urban planning decisions that seek to attract visitors, transforming the environment for tourism interests. Pickel-Chevalier [18] stresses that this phenomenon is not abstract but is driven by specific actors and variables that guide the shift towards a tourism-based economy. This process can manifest itself at different scales, from regional areas and urban destinations to smaller enclaves such as monuments, natural parks and archaeological sites [19,20]. Pickel-Chevalier [21] insists on the importance of analysing this phenomenon in each specific territory and historical context, as its manifestations vary from place to place.

Although most recent studies on touristification have focused on urban destinations, such as historic city centres, the phenomenon is also increasingly affecting rural areas. Despite this, analysis of its impact in these areas remains limited, although recent research has begun to address this issue [22,23,24]. Rural tourism differs from urban tourism in several key aspects. On the one hand, it is not always linked to the massive arrival of tourists; in many cases, a small number of visitors can cause significant impacts due to the low carrying capacity and small size of local communities [25]. On the other hand, rural areas, often rich in natural and cultural values, tend to be highly sensitive to changes generated by tourism, showing different patterns of touristification than large mass destinations [25].

2.2. Growth Strategies

The phenomenon of touristification, as a process of transformation of space towards a predominantly tourist use, not only has an impact on the social and cultural level but is also deeply linked to economic and territorial growth strategies. Touristification, driven by tourism demand and the interests of various economic and political actors, is a key tool within these strategies, aimed at maximising the value of available resources and promoting the development of new spaces for tourism production and consumption.

Growth strategies in tourist destinations can be explained through theories such as Molotch’s [26] urban growth machine. According to this theory, the alliance between economic and political interests has as its main objective to maintain and promote the growth of the urbanisation process. In this context, property owners associate with a wide network of economic and political agents to maximise the value of the rent extracted from their properties.

The urban growth machine is underpinned by the coalition of two key actors: the property-based urban elite, who seek economic benefits from land use, and local governments, whose role is to facilitate development through policy decisions that support these interests. This economic–political framework fosters the creation of neoliberal urban governance, which prioritises the interests of large property owners, generating significant profits through urbanisation and investment in new urban spaces.

However, this model implies a weakening of control and regulation measures, orienting them to the service of a minority, such as large real estate agents [27]. The close relationship between private capital and local governments reflects a direct connection between economic expansion and urban development. This phenomenon has intensified especially since the economic crisis of 2008 and 2019, which fuelled the search for new rental opportunities [28,29,30].

To analyse territorial patterns in the development of new spaces of tourism production and consumption in mature destinations, such as the case of the island of Mallorca (Spain), this research is based on the growth machine theory proposed by Molotch [26] and developed by Logan and Molotch [31]. This theory allows us to identify and understand the variables that drive economic development in specific territories [32]. According to Müller et al. [27], the urban growth machine is particularly useful in explaining the boom in tourist housing after the 2008 economic crisis, facilitated by the growth of collaborative tourism marketing platforms such as Airbnb.

So far, most studies have applied growth machine theory to tourism development in urban contexts. However, little work has explored its relevance to rural space. A prominent example is Canan and Hennessy’s [33] analysis of the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i, where the transition from an agricultural economy to tourism led to land use conflicts due to resort development, as well as a progressive erosion of local culture. This case illustrates how the dynamics of tourism growth can generate socio-economic and cultural tensions in rural areas.

On the other hand, the concept of destination rejuvenation, described by Butler’s Destination Life Cycle theory [34], complements this perspective. According to this theory, destinations go through six phases: exploration, development, consolidation, stagnation, decline and rejuvenation. In the stage of stagnation or decline, destinations can implement revitalisation strategies, such as the introduction of new tourism products and the diversification of demand segments. In this context, the creation of STRs has emerged as a key strategy, not only to diversify the tourism offer but also to adapt to the needs of a constantly evolving market. These accommodation formulas have become a central driver of tourism growth in mature destinations, especially in rural areas.

2.3. STRs and Touristification

STRs have profoundly transformed the processes of generating space for tourist accommodation. The traditional model, centred on hotel establishments subject to rigorous administrative controls and characterised by slow development [35], has been replaced by a dynamic and accelerated model that has expanded the supply of accommodation beyond the limits of the traditional tourist space. This change is most clearly observed in territories where the economy is highly dependent on tourism, forcing tourism actors to identify new productive spaces capable of satisfying an increasingly diversified demand [36].

In this context, the commodification of housing has emerged as a key factor in the processes of territorial touristification [37,38]. In mass tourism destinations such as Mallorca, this phenomenon has led to an increase in tourist inflows to areas that were previously on the fringes of tourism development. This process not only redefines the tourist interest in the space, stripping it of its traditional uses and values but also generates profound changes in local socio-territorial dynamics [11,39].

The expansion of STRs has raised the need to understand the relationships between the characteristics of the territorial development of tourism and its spatial distribution [40]. Although numerous studies have analysed the impact of STRs, most of them have focused on large cities, where this phenomenon has had a greater impact since its emergence with online marketing platforms [41,42]. However, the holiday rental phenomenon has also spread to smaller cities and rural areas, although it has received less academic attention [43,44]. In countries such as Spain, the number of holiday homes in rural areas has grown significantly since the economic crisis of 2008, driven by the rise in intermediary platforms such as Airbnb [45].

According to Cors-Iglesias et al. [46], rural areas tend to be late adopters compared to urban areas, as the volume of supply is generally lower. However, these areas have experienced higher year-on-year growth rates, driven by the saturation of STRs in urban contexts [47,48]. For example, in Spain, the number of rural owners advertising their properties on Airbnb grew by 63% between 2016 and 2017, while the number of guests staying in these properties increased by 110% in the same period. This has made STRs an important source of income for rural communities [49,50].

In Mallorca, several studies have explored the spatial distribution of STRs, either at the island level [51] or in specific tourist enclaves such as Palma [52] and coastal municipalities such as Pollença [27,53]. Although touristification has been widely studied, most analyses have focused on urban space, with an emphasis on phenomena such as gentrification and the expulsion of local communities [14,39]. In contrast, studies on touristification in rural space are scarcer [4,54,55,56].

The regulation of STRs has become a crucial issue due to the success and evolution of this accommodation model. Initially conceived as a non-commercial alternative to connect hosts and guests, the original concept of ‘sharing’ has blurred over time [57]. The professionalisation of platforms such as Airbnb has generated tensions in the hotel industry, which denounces unfair competition from STRs for evading regulations and not paying specific taxes [58]. In addition, negative externalities associated with STRs include increased rental prices and other impacts on local communities [59,60]. Regulatory responses vary widely, ranging from taxes to limitations on rental time, reflecting the complexity of managing this global phenomenon [61,62].

In mature destinations such as Mallorca, STRs have emerged as a spatial solution for the expansion of tourism capital. With 104,131 STR beds, representing 26% of the total accommodation offered on the island according to 2024 data, this model has intensified the touristification of rural areas, previously on the fringes of the traditional sun and beach model. When compared to other Mediterranean destinations such as Mykonos and Santorini (Greece), where STRs represent 37% and 27% (Table 1) of the total supply, respectively, a similar trend is observed. These data are in line with the hypothesis put forward on the role that tourist accommodation plays as a key spatial strategy in mature destinations, as it allows for the revival of the tourism sector.

2.4. Analysis of STRs in the North Mediterranean Sea

The growth of tourist short rental in the Mediterranean islands has transformed the traditional accommodation model, consolidating it as a key option in the tourism supply of many island destinations (Table 1). This phenomenon has been driven by the popularity of short-term rental platforms and a growing preference among tourists for personalised accommodation [58]. Over the past decades, this trend has had a significant impact on the region’s tourism economy, reflected in both the increase in listings and overnight stays recorded in these accommodations [63]. We have selected most of the tourist islands and archipelagos in the Mediterranean to frame the analysis of STRs in our case study into context.

With 24,893 tourist homes and 9.6 million STR overnight stays, the Balearic Islands stand out as an example of high tourist intensity and strong reliance on STR accommodation (Table 2) [64,65,66,67]. The Balearic Islands show remarkable pressure according to their territorial extension (5040 km²) and the amount of tourist supply and demand received (Table 1 and Table 2).

Table 1. STRs advertised on Airbnb on popular Mediterranean islands.

Islands	Popul. 2024	Extension km2	STR/ km2	STR/ 100 Residents	STR % over Total Supply	Price by Night Average (€)
Mallorca	16,833	3640.1	4.62	1.77	26 a	218
Mykonos	4102	85.5	48.0	40.48	37 b	221
Santorini	5641	76.19	77.3	32.36	27 b	293

Source: Inside Airbnb (2023) [67]; Consell Insular de Mallorca ^a (2023) [68]; Hellenic Statistical Authority ^b (2023) [69].

Table 1. STRs advertised on Airbnb on popular Mediterranean islands.

Islands	Popul. 2024	Extension km2	STR/ km2	STR/ 100 Residents	STR % over Total Supply	Price by Night Average (€)
Mallorca	16,833	3640.1	4.62	1.77	26 a	218
Mykonos	4102	85.5	48.0	40.48	37 b	221
Santorini	5641	76.19	77.3	32.36	27 b	293

Source: Inside Airbnb (2023) [67]; Consell Insular de Mallorca ^a (2023) [68]; Hellenic Statistical Authority ^b (2023) [69].

The tourist islands of the Cyclades archipelago such as Santorini or Mykonos show remarkable pressure due to the strong growth of tourist dwellings, higher than the situation of other Mediterranean islands, despite the small size of these two Greek islands (Figure 1 and Table 1). These tourist islands suffer particularly from tourist saturation due to the massive arrival of cruise passengers, the growth of accommodation supply and the increase in prices [70]. In this sense, recent studies have shown how the phenomenon of overtourism on islands such as Santorini has affected the local identity, the economic structure and the territorial model, generating significant impacts on the sustainability of the destination [71].

Malta, 316 km², possesses a high concentration of tourist dwellings with 10,000 STRs, 4.1 million nights in STR and 31.65 dwellings per km², evidencing the pressure that this model generates in territories of limited size [72]. This island shows the highest pressure in the indicators used. The South Aegean region (Notio Aigaio) (islands such as Santorini, Mykonos, and Rhodes) shows a similar pattern to Malta, with strong pressure on the resident population (Table 2).

The larger islands show less territorial pressure, such as Cyprus, Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica, although the islands with smaller populations, such as Crete or Corsica, are under greater pressure (Table 2). Crete has a similar supply of tourist accommodation to the Balearic Islands but with twice the land area and half the population. Sicily is the island with the largest supply of tourist accommodation (59,887) and 10.1 million nights, and in recent years they have shown an increasing trend (Figure 2). Corsica and Sardinia have a considerable supply, although the growth of the supply of tourist accommodation has been somewhat more moderate and, in many cases, more dispersed throughout the territory.

In general, the larger islands can better withstand the pressure of tourist activity than islands with a smaller territory. Larger islands such as Sicily and Sardinia experience more dispersed growth, while smaller, more saturated destinations such as Malta, the Balearic Islands and the North Aegean have greater problems arising from the concentration of tourist housing and tourist accommodation in general [73]. The expansion of digital platforms such as Airbnb has facilitated the massive proliferation of tourist accommodation, both in consolidated coastal areas and in rural areas in the interior of the islands, transforming agricultural spaces into tourist ones.

Table 2. STRs on Mediterranean islands and archipelagos.

NUTS 2 EU	Ext. (km2)	Popul. (2023)	Tourists (2019) 1 Mill.	Hotels (2023) 2	Bed Places (2023) 2	Hotel Nights 2 (2023) Mill.	STR Nights (2023) 2 Mill.	STR 2 (2023)	STR/Km2	STR Nights/Population
Balearic Is. (SP)	4992	1,232,500	12.42	2.764	471,231	68.79	9.69	24,893	4.99	7.87
Corsica (FR)	8680	355,528	2.90	899	166,855	10.21	3.42	35,044 6	4.04	9.64
Sardinia (IT)	24,099	1,569,832	3.44	5.699	223,033	14.20	6.41	43,000 5	1.78	4.09
Sicily (IT)	25,833	4,794,512	5.12	8.495	219,098	16.44	10.17	59,887	2.32	2.12
Malta (M)	316	553,214	2.02	335	51,041	9.89	4.14	10,000 3	31.65	7.49
Ionian Is. (GR)	2305	202,185	2.98	4.527	155,968	19.76	6.06	-	-	30.02
Crete (GR)	8342	622,909	6.14	4.133	240,502	34.34	6.33	25,648	3.07	10.17
N.Aegean (GR)	3849	195,509	0.55	1.012	33,992	2.84	0.42	-	-	2.17
S. Aegean (GR)	5316	326,945	7.70	6.275	297,015	38.36	7.19	33,558	6.31	22.02
Cyprus (CY)	9250	1,260,138	3.24	771	84,859	15.63	5.35	8510 4	0.92	4.25

Source: EUROSTAT (2019) ¹ [74]; EUROSTAT (2023) ² [64,65,66]; Inside Airbnb (2023) [67]; Times Malta (2024) ³ [75]; Ekatimeri.com (2024) ⁴ [76]; La Nuova Sardegna (2024) ⁵ [77]; AirDNA, (2022) ⁶ [78].

Table 2. STRs on Mediterranean islands and archipelagos.

NUTS 2 EU	Ext. (km2)	Popul. (2023)	Tourists (2019) 1 Mill.	Hotels (2023) 2	Bed Places (2023) 2	Hotel Nights 2 (2023) Mill.	STR Nights (2023) 2 Mill.	STR 2 (2023)	STR/Km2	STR Nights/Population
Balearic Is. (SP)	4992	1,232,500	12.42	2.764	471,231	68.79	9.69	24,893	4.99	7.87
Corsica (FR)	8680	355,528	2.90	899	166,855	10.21	3.42	35,044 6	4.04	9.64
Sardinia (IT)	24,099	1,569,832	3.44	5.699	223,033	14.20	6.41	43,000 5	1.78	4.09
Sicily (IT)	25,833	4,794,512	5.12	8.495	219,098	16.44	10.17	59,887	2.32	2.12
Malta (M)	316	553,214	2.02	335	51,041	9.89	4.14	10,000 3	31.65	7.49
Ionian Is. (GR)	2305	202,185	2.98	4.527	155,968	19.76	6.06	-	-	30.02
Crete (GR)	8342	622,909	6.14	4.133	240,502	34.34	6.33	25,648	3.07	10.17
N.Aegean (GR)	3849	195,509	0.55	1.012	33,992	2.84	0.42	-	-	2.17
S. Aegean (GR)	5316	326,945	7.70	6.275	297,015	38.36	7.19	33,558	6.31	22.02
Cyprus (CY)	9250	1,260,138	3.24	771	84,859	15.63	5.35	8510 4	0.92	4.25

Source: EUROSTAT (2019) ¹ [74]; EUROSTAT (2023) ² [64,65,66]; Inside Airbnb (2023) [67]; Times Malta (2024) ³ [75]; Ekatimeri.com (2024) ⁴ [76]; La Nuova Sardegna (2024) ⁵ [77]; AirDNA, (2022) ⁶ [78].

Most overnight stays and therefore the supply of tourist accommodation in the European Mediterranean are concentrated in the Spanish regions, Dalmatia-Istria, Provence, and some Italian regions (Tuscany, Lazio, Sicily and Veneto) (

Table 3. STRs by European Mediterranean regions NUT2 (overnight stays).

Mediterranean Regions	June 2024	June 2018	2018– 2024%	Mediterranean Regions	June 2024	June 2018	2018– 2024%
Attica	1,052,297	476,006	121.07	Liguria	766,927	433,554	76.89
North Aegean	87,388	26,902	224.84	Molise	14,585	3108	369.27
South Aegean	1,256,376	569,647	120.55	Campania	1,050,197	476,373	120.46
Crete	1,019,965	441,319	131.12	Apulia	907,934	369,344	145.82
Eastern Macedonia	222,886	97,016	129.74	Basilicata	30,894	16,774	84.18
Central Macedonia	739,990	369,884	100.06	Calabria	101,200	49,362	105.02
Epirus	82,114	29,014	183.02	Sicily	1,368,960	713,298	91.92
Thessaly	172,798	64,146	169.38	Sardinia	1,032,624	573,539	80.04
Ionian Islands	1,100,736	453,860	142.53	Veneto	1,183,562	758,946	55.95
Western Greece	40,967	15,479	164.66	Friuli-Venezia G	177,157	99,227	78.54
Central Greece	45,215	22,741	98.83	Emilia-Romagna	388,389	186,323	108.45
Peloponnese	197,346	91,137	116.54	Tuscany	1,927,422	1,209,415	59.37
Catalonia	2,498,807	2,059,567	21.33	Umbria	144,500	77,666	86.05
Valencian Region	2,545,592	1,510,629	68.51	Marche	167,475	73,525	127.78
Balearic Islands	1,553,875	1,181,083	31.56	Lazio	1,823,785	1,067,709	70.81
Andalusia	3,999,904	1,978,546	102.16	Abruzzo	125,368	49,653	152.49
Region of Murcia	193,330	117,500	64.54	Cyprus	625,877	443,516	41.12
Languedoc-Roussillon	995,677	491,388	102.63	Western Slovenia	358,991	195,977	83.18
Provence-Alpes	2.975,108	1,559,176	90.81	Malta	603,316	300,848	100.54
Corsica	540,780	372,811	45.05
Istria-Dalmatia	5,097,947	3,042,579	67.55	Total	25,279,413	14,970,430	68.86

Source: EUROSTAT (2024) [66] based on data from Airbnb, Booking, Expedia and TripAdvisor.

and Figure 3).

The evolution of STRs in the Mediterranean regions has been varied. On the one hand, a group of regions that in 2018 had a limited supply of tourist accommodation have experienced a large growth (+150%). This has occurred mainly in some regions of Greece (Thessaly, Epirus, North Aegean Islands, Western Greece) and Italy (Molise and Abruzzo).

A second group of Mediterranean regions that have also registered a significant growth in supply and therefore in overnight stays (100–150%) is made up of areas with a significant supply such as Andalusia, Malta, Ionian Islands, etc. which have grown substantially but already had a significant offer in 2018. Finally, the group that has grown the least (less than 100%) is made up of mature areas that were already consolidated in 2018 such as Dalmatia, Tuscany, Veneto or the Balearic Islands. The lower growth responds to the maturity of the tourist housing market, regulatory standards and the greater or lesser support for the conventional hotel accommodation offer (Table 3).

The rise in tourist accommodation also poses significant challenges. From one perspective, it has contributed to the diversification of the tourist offer, as well as generating additional income for local owners. From an alternative perspective, it has caused problems of tourist saturation, gentrification and increasing pressure on local infrastructure, especially on smaller islands such as Malta or Santorini and the Balearic Islands, where territorial resources are limited [72]. These dynamics highlight the need for regulatory strategies [79].

In this line, most European countries in the Mediterranean have adopted the text approved by the European Parliament on 19.02.2024 on “Data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services”. In Italy, restrictions have been proposed for the cities of Rome, Florence and Venice that limit the period of housing and neighbourhood supply. Likewise, national legislation on registration and premises is applied, as well as a specific tax that must be paid by the tourist. Greece has developed measures like those of Italy, Athens, Mykonos, and Santorini have measures to restrict the creation of new housing; in the case of Athens, the limitations are focused on certain neighbourhoods. In Croatia, more control measures have been developed, both nationally, which reflect European recommendations, and in some well-known destinations such as Dubrovnik, where the granting of new licences has been halted. Malta has also proposed restrictions on housing licences in saturated areas of the island. Cyprus has developed European regulations, insisting on the pursuit of illegal housing and the payment of taxes. In Spain, a transposition of the European regulations has been made for the registration of tourist housing. The autonomous regions and municipalities have developed regulations to restrict growth, especially in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. Various cities have limited growth in neighbourhoods saturated with housing, such as Malaga and Barcelona.

2.5. Analysis of STRs in Spain

The analysis of Spain shows that many municipalities with high percentages of STRs are in inland areas. In fact, 10 of the 20 municipalities with the highest proportion of STRs in relation to the total are located inland (Table 3 and Figure 4).

The expansion of STRs in Spain has had an impact on the increase in house prices, both in terms of buying and renting. Our analysis points to a correlation between the number of STR vacancies in Spanish cities and the average purchase price of new housing [80], with a correlation coefficient of 0.64.

The areas with the proportion of inland housing in the destinations of Spain are in mountainous areas, especially in the Pyrenees, the Cantabrian Mountains (around Santander and Asturias in the north of Spain), some inland municipalities of the Iberian and Central System (

Table 4. Municipalities with the highest percentages of STRs in Spain in 2024.

Municipality	%		Municipality	%
Yaiza (Lanzarote I., Canary Is.)	24.14	C	Margalef (Tarragona, Catalonia)	16.98	I
La Oliva (Fuerteventura I., Canary Is.)	23.68	C	Teguise (Lanzarote, I., Canary Is.)	16.74	C
Jalón de Cameros (La Rioja)	22.86	I	Begur (Gerona, Catalonia)	15.80	C
Roncesvalles (Navarra, Pyrenees)	22.22	I	Adeje (Tenerife, I., Canary Is.)	15.73	C
Búger (Balearic Is., Mallorca I.)	20.83	I	Naut Aran (Catalonia, Pyrenees)	15.61	I
Sales de Llierca (Catalonia, Pyrenees)	19.54	I	Haría (Lanzarote I., Canary Is.)	15.57	C
Pollença (Balearic Is., Mallorca I.)	19.07	C	Pals (Gerona, Catalonia)	14.94	I
Monasterio (Central System, Castilla-Mancha)	18.60	I	Castilnuevo (Iberian System, Castilla-Mancha)	14.81	I
Valle de Bardají (Aragon, Pyrenees)	18.52	I	Cadaqués (Gerona, Catalonia)	14.23	C

Source: INE (2024) [80]. Note: C = coast; I = interior.

). The presence of STRs in mountain areas in the case of the Pyrenees is linked to ski tourism, and the initial development of second homes, which have then been converted into tourist offerings. In the rest of the mountainous areas, the development of rural tourism has driven the growth of STRs for this activity. On the other hand, it should be noted that the expansion towards inland areas from coastal destinations is clearly observed in the south of Spain (inland areas of the province of Malaga-Costa del Sol), inland areas of Tarragona-Costa Dorada, inland areas of Gerona-Costa Brava. Specifically, the example of the Costa del Sol STR expansion is described in Figure 4.

The inland areas of both archipelagos also have a high presence of STRs (Table 4). In the case of the Canary Islands, the wide extension of the municipalities that extend from the coast towards the interior, dilutes the difference between the coast and interior, with STRs being in both parts of the municipality.

One of the most striking processes has been the expansion of STRs from consolidated coastal destinations towards the interior and the conversion of the rural tourist offers into tourist housing, which has boosted the presence of STRs in rural areas in the interior of the Peninsula. A good example is what has happened in the interior of the province of Malaga and part of the provinces of Cadiz and Granada (Andalusia, South of Spain). The regions of Serranía de Ronda and Axarquía in Malaga province and Alpujarra in Granada province have experienced great growth in the supply of STR, as can be seen in Figure 4 and

Table 5. Expansion of STRs from the Costa del Sol.

Municipality	%	Municipality	%
Júzcar (MA)	10.86	Ojén (MA)	4.98
Monachil (GR)	9.77	Sayalonga (MA)	4.78
Frigiliana (MA)	9.18	Montecorto (MA)	4.13
Carataunas (GR)	8.79	Gaucín (MA)	3.94
Benahavís (MA)	8.60	Setenil (CA)	3.88
El Gastor (CA)	6.70	Nigüelas	3.85
El Bosque (CA)	5.62	Canillas de Albaida (MA)	3.80
Cómpeta (MA)	5.50	Benadalid (MA)	3.69
Capileira (GR)	5.03	Viñuela (MA)	3.62

Source: (2024) [80]. Note: MA = Málaga province; GR = Granada province; CA = Cadiz province.

. Inland municipalities of Costa del Sol with more than 3.58% of housing out of the total residential housing have been identified in Table 5.

3. Methodology

3.1. The Island of Mallorca, Spain

Mallorca, the largest island in the Balearic archipelago, is located in the Mediterranean Sea and it is a part of the Spanish territory. With an area of approximately 3640 km², it is the most extensive island of the Balearic Islands (Figure 5) and the seventh largest island in the Mediterranean. In 2023, Mallorca had a population of 929,950 inhabitants [81], making it the most populated island in the Balearic archipelago and the fourth most populated in the Mediterranean. Its population density is 240.45 inhabitants/km². The main tourist areas are concentrated along the coast, with the area around Palma Bay being particularly notable.

The island of Mallorca, an established tourist destination, has seen a steady increase in visitor arrivals, exceeding twelve million tourists in 2023 (Figure 6) [82]. This sustained growth has significantly transformed the accommodation landscape on the island. While the number of hotel beds has remained stable over the past decade, tourist accommodation has continued to gain prominence, with 1.72 million travellers accommodated in 2023, representing an increase of 26% compared to the 1.37 million recorded in 2022, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics. Likewise, overnight stays in holiday rentals reached 8.42 million in 2023, 8% more than in the previous year [83]. This evolution reinforces the role of tourist accommodation as a key complement to traditional hotel infrastructure (Figure 7).

The rise in STRs in Mallorca began to consolidate in 2008, coinciding with the appearance of collaborative platforms such as Airbnb. This disruptive phenomenon arose in response to the need to revitalise tourist demand, affected by the economic crisis of that year [27]. These platforms transformed the market by facilitating access to new accommodation models, expanding the island’s capacity to receive visitors (Figure 8).

Until 2017, the approved regulations focused on regulating the conditions of this type of accommodation, establishing requirements on quality and safety, but without imposing limits on its growth or defining restrictions based on zoning. This allowed a significant expansion of STRs without effective territorial control. However, given the uncontrolled growth of the sector and its impact on housing and the traditional tourist market, the government of the Balearic Islands adopted specific measures to mitigate its effects.

Following the global trend of regulating STRs and mitigating their negative externalities [84], a key milestone was the approval of the Regional Law 6/2017 on the marketing of tourist stays in homes, which represented a change in the management of the sector by introducing limitations to the growth of the offer and establishing zoning criteria. This regulation sought to avoid unfair competition with traditional accommodation, prevent illegal practices by owners, and guarantee quality standards in the sector.

Between 2017 and 2021, the growth of tourist accommodation was affected by regulatory restrictions and, especially, by the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. However, the post-pandemic reactivation has intensified tourist pressure, increasing the social debate on the sustainability of the sector in the Balearic Islands.

In response to this situation, Decree Law 3/2022 was approved, which imposes a freeze on new tourist places for the next four years with the aim of improving the quality of life of residents and optimising the tourist experience. In Mallorca, there are currently a total of 411,774 tourist accommodation places, of which 103,863 correspond to STRs. This high supply has driven the need for regulations to curb the growth of the sector and ensure a balance between tourism and local well-being.

3.2. Case Study: The Rural Inland of Mallorca

The rural area analysed in this study is the Pla de Mallorca (The Mallorca Plain) region, located in the interior of the island and considered the most rural region of Mallorca (Figure 9). This territory covers 737.7 km² and is made up of 14 municipalities that, in 2023, were home to 41,201 inhabitants, representing approximately 4.5% of the island’s total population.

In the areas further away from traditional coastal centres, such as the municipalities of Pla de Mallorca, the expansion of tourist accommodation was a late phenomenon compared to the coast. In 2005, only 4 STRs with 34 places were registered. However, by 2023, these figures had increased significantly, reaching 1175 STRs with a total of 7492 places.

As can be seen in Figure 10, the growth of STRs has consolidated this modality as the main form of accommodation in the region. While in 2005 they represented only 5.8% of tourist places, in 2023 this percentage rose to 86.4%. In contrast, the hotel offer has shown minimal growth, which shows a radical transformation in the predominant type of accommodation in rural areas.

In a similar way to what has happened in other areas of the island, rural areas have replicated the dynamics of tourist growth in coastal areas, although with a time lag. This pattern confirms that touristification has had a strong impact on the interior of Mallorca, transforming its land use, economy and social structure. As a result, the island has experienced a touristification that now covers both coastal areas and the whole of its rural territory.

3.3. Data and Methodology

For this study, data corresponding to the period 2005–2023, the most recently available, have been taken. Although the STRs phenomenon in Mallorca has its origins in the late 1990s [85], 2005 has been chosen as the base year due to the approval of Decree 55/2005, of May 20, which regulates STRs in the Autonomous Community of the Balearic Islands. This decree marks a turning point, establishing a specific regulatory framework for the supply of holiday homes for tourist use. Until then, although applicable regulations existed, they were not specifically designed to address this type of accommodation.

It should be noted that this research uses a quantitative approach based on the territorial interpretation of data from various sources (

Table 6. Description of the variables for the research.

Variable	Data	Source
Tourist Accommodation	Conventional accommodation: agritourism, hotels, hotel-apartments, hostels, rural hotels, and other rural lodges	Registry of tourism businesses, activities, and establishments (Consell de Mallorca) [68]
Tourist Rental Homes	Tourist Stay Accommodation (ETV) Holiday Rental Home (VT)	Registry of tourism businesses, activities, and establishments (Consell de Mallorca) [68]
Geolocation of Establishments	Geographic location of establishments	Registry of tourism businesses, activities, and establishments (Consell de Mallorca) [68]
Tourist Rental Home Beds	Number of tourist beds	Registry of tourism businesses, activities, and establishments (Consell de Mallorca) [68]
Municipal Area	Surface area (km2)	Municipal data. Statistics Institute of the Balearic Islands (Ibestat) [86]

Source: Own elaboration.

). These data allow us to analyse the growth, intensity and spatial concentration of STRs, as well as their influence in rural areas.

The research variables (Table 6) have been analysed using GIS (Geographic Information System) that has provided a spatial and temporal analysis. In this research, ArcGIS Pro 3.0 software has been used to analyse the impact of STRs on the touristification of the Pla de Mallorca region. According to Wei [87], the use of GIS offers key services for tourism research, geographic decision-making, and tourism management. Previous studies have shown that this methodology is particularly useful in the evaluation of tourist overload on islands, allowing a better understanding of the distribution and density of tourism in vulnerable destinations, as evidenced by the analysis of tourist saturation in Santorini [71].

The analysis has focused on the following indicators:

• Spatial and temporal distribution of the STR

The STR data have been georeferenced in the cartography of the municipalities using GIS. From this cartographic representation, it has been possible to exploit the data and create maps that allow the territorial distribution of the STR to be analysed, as well as their evolution over time (Figure 11).

• Spatial density of the STR

This study uses a municipal tourism intensity indicator, defined as the number of tourist housing accommodation places per square kilometre (number of places/km²). This indicator is used to evaluate the impact of the STR on the intensification of the tourist accommodation supply in the municipalities of the Pla de Mallorca region.

• STR density estimated by Kernel

To analyse the location patterns of tourist accommodation, the KDE (Kernel Density Estimation) model was applied, which is widely used for the spatial analysis of the tourist offer [7,8,88,89]. This model allows identifying concentrations and spatial patterns in the distribution of tourist accommodation (Figure 10).

The Kernel density estimate is calculated using the following formula [90]:

$$\begin{array}{c}Density={\displaystyle \frac{1}{{(radius)}^2}}{\displaystyle \sum _{i=1}^n\left[\frac{3}{\pi }\cdot po{p}_i{\left(1-{\left(\frac{dis{t}_i}{radius}\right)}^2\right)}^2\right]}\hspace{1em}\\ \mathrm{For} dis{t}_i<radius\end{array}$$

where

• i = 1, …, n are the input points. Only include points in the sum if they are within the radius distance of the (x,y) location;
• pop_i is the population field value of point i, which is an optional parameter;
• dist_i is the distance between point i and the (x,y) location.

The calculated density is multiplied by the number of points or the sum of the population field, so that the spatial integral is equivalent to the number of points (or the sum of the population) rather than equal to 1. This calculation uses a quadratic Kernel function [91]. The bandwidth was automatically calculated using the Silverman rule built into ArcGIS Pro. This approach is widely used to adjust the radius of influence based on the distribution of the data. Finally, the formula is applied to each space for which you want to estimate the density.

4. Results

The obtained results analyse the processes related to the growth of the tourist accommodation offer, with special emphasis on STRs. As can be seen in Figure 11, during the last decade the growth of STRs has intensified in all the municipalities of the Pla de Mallorca region, with the municipality of Algaida being where the offer has grown the most, currently reaching 142 STRs and 949 beds (

Table 7. Density of STR places by Pla de Mallorca municipalities.

Municipalities	Total Beds 1	Surface 2	Beds by km2	STR% by Total Homes 3	Municipalities	Total Beds	Surface	Beds by km2	STR% by Total Homes
Algaida	949	89.78	10.57	2.74	Porreres	717	86.91	8.25	2.74
Ariany	515	23.14	22.26	14.61	Sant Joan	376	38.54	9.76	2.67
Costitx	355	15.37	23.10	4.75	Santa Eugènia	231	20.25	11.41	1.18
Lloret de Vistalegre	287	17.44	16.46	3.66	Sencelles	801	52.86	15.15	3.64
Llubí	457	34.92	13.09	6.65	Sineu	824	47.74	17.26	4.00
Maria de la Salut	542	30.52	17.76	5.63	Vilafranca de Bonany	268	23.96	11.19	2.67
Montuïri	412	41.13	10.02	2.09	TOTAL/Mean	7492	592.6	12.64	4.60
Petra	758	70.04	10.82	7.46	Coef. Variation	43.77	58.23	33.39	73.30

Source: Own elaboration and Consell de Mallorca ¹ (2023) [68]; Ibestat ² (2024) [86]; INE ³ (2024) [80].

). Specifically, it is the municipality in the study area with the largest territorial extension, so the Pearson correlation index has been calculated to determine if there is a relationship between the variable’s surface size and volume of STRs.

The distribution of STRs according to the type of land (urban vs. rustic) reflects how the rural environment has become a key tourist attraction, driving the proliferation of this type of accommodation in the Pla de Mallorca. In 2023, 68.9% of STRs were located on rustic land, while 31.1% were on urban land. This phenomenon is generating a significant transformation in rural areas, where rustic lands are losing their agricultural value in favour of new tourist–residential uses. These changes are significantly modifying the physical, environmental, social and cultural landscape of these areas. This dynamic coincides with the results of various studies that address processes of gentrification and rural touristification in other countries [4,55,92].

Figure 11. Spatial and temporal evolution of tourist housing in the study area. Source: Own elaboration.

Figure 11. Spatial and temporal evolution of tourist housing in the study area. Source: Own elaboration.

4.1. Density of STR Supply

According to 2023 data, there were 7492 STR places in the Pla de Mallorca region (Table 7), which represents 7.21% of the total supply on the island of Mallorca. The territorial density analysis shows a general density of 12.64 STR beds/km², a figure much higher than that recorded in 2005, when the density was just 0.06 STR beds/km², which was equivalent to only 36 places in the entire region. The intensity per municipality ranges from a maximum of 23.10 in Costitx to a minimum of 8.25 in Porreres. The density of tourist housing among total housing indicates that the municipalities closest to the coastal Levante (Alcudia) have a higher density (Ariany, Petra) than the western municipalities of the study area. We identified a high coefficient of variation in STR% by total homes, which can be explained by the differentiated behaviour of the municipalities, between those with a high supply of STR (close to the Levante coast) and the rest of the more rural municipalities (Table 7).

Despite the difficulties faced by the tourism sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, the tourist offer associated with STRs has continued to grow. Before the pandemic, the study area had a density of 12.57 beds/km², a figure that increased slightly to 12.64 beds/km² in 2023. Although regulatory restrictions and the health crisis-imposed challenges, the accommodation offer has continued to expand, albeit more moderately.

These results are in line with the findings of other studies [93,94], which have shown that STRs have better withstood the COVID-19 crisis compared to other types of accommodation, where the difficulty in maintaining social distancing had a more significant impact.

It is worth noting that, while Law 6/2017 established a framework for the regulation and legalisation of tourist accommodation, it also introduced a limit on the number of tourist places and defined criteria to delimit the areas suitable for the marketing of this type of accommodation. In practice, its implementation was complemented by the zoning approved in 2018, which established geographical restrictions on the tourist rental offer based on factors such as tourist saturation or the shortage of permanent rental housing. However, in the area subject to this study, strict restrictions were not applied within this zoning, which has allowed the continued growth of the STR offer, in contrast to other areas of the island that have been subject to more severe limitations. In this sense, territorial planning has prioritised the containment of growth in coastal tourist enclaves, promoting instead greater development of tourist accommodation in the interior of the island, where the density of the offer is lower.

4.2. Estimated STR Density by Kernel

In this research, the Kernel Density Analysis (KDE) method has been used to determine the spatial density of STRs in the Pla de Mallorca region. The results obtained (Figure 12) show that in 2005 the STRs had a very irregular spatial distribution, in contrast to the current situation, where a more homogeneous spatial distribution of STRs is observed. This is evidence of an increase in the density of STRs throughout the study area between 2005 and 2023. However, to date, this topic has been studied mostly in an urban context, as other studies have shown [46,49,95], that STRs have emerged with some force in rural areas.

Although most STRs are in rural areas, the highest densities are recorded in the urban core or capital of each municipality. This fact shows that, during the period analysed, there has been a significant conversion of residential properties to tourist use. As a result, this poses a potential challenge for residents, who could face greater difficulties in accessing housing in these municipalities.

5. Conclusions

5.1. Reflection and Discussion

Traditionally, the “growth machine” has materialised in mature tourist destinations on the Spanish coast through urban tourist expansion [96]. However, this research validates the hypothesis that the growth machine is also a useful framework for understanding the touristification of rural space in a mature tourist destination. In the case of Mallorca, this process has been driven by planners as a strategy to restructure established destinations and diversify their sun and beach offerings. Since the 1990s, the focus has been on rural areas with the aim of developing new products and formulas for tourist accommodation [97]. However, it was with the strong emergence of tourist accommodation, starting in 2008, when the growth machinery was significantly strengthened, facilitating the implementation of new production spaces and expanding the frontier of tourist consumption towards the interior of the island [12].

As Müller et al. [27] point out, this process in Mallorca is geographically uneven, concentrating mainly on spaces previously integrated into the tourist circuits of the capital. However, this study shows that, currently, the expansion trend also affects municipalities in the interior of the island that previously did not have any type of tourist accommodation. This reflects an expansion of the tourist consumption model towards new rural areas, generating significant territorial and social implications.

The small geographical size of Mallorca means that the distances between accommodation and tourist attractions are minimal, favouring a wide dispersion of tourism in the territory. On the other hand, economic specialisation in the tourism sector, combined with the decline in agricultural activity, encourages the displacement of tourism to rural areas. These particularities can differentiate the process of rural touristification in Mallorca from other mature tourist destinations with different territorial and economic contexts.

Regarding this expansion of the commercialisation of tourism in rural areas, it is important to highlight those previous studies, such as those by Britton [98], Gascón and Cañada [99] and Moreno et al. [100], have pointed out that the process of touristification, when promoted in an uncritical and unregulated manner, often generates transformations and negative impacts. Canan and Hennessy [33], applying the growth machine theory on the Hawaiian island of Moloka’i, demonstrated that the lack of planning caused an economic transition from agriculture to tourism, generating land use conflicts due to the uncontrolled development of tourist accommodation. In the case of Mallorca, the results obtained show that, from 2008, the tourist growth machine found a great ally in the appearance of collaborative platforms that facilitated the marketing of housing for tourism. This phenomenon, combined with regulations approved until 2017, generated a functional transformation of the rural areas of the island.

The consequences of these regulations have been reflected in the high densities of STR in urban centres, suggesting that the difficulties in accessing residential housing observed in cities are also being reproduced in rural areas of Mallorca. In addition, a diffuse expansion of the supply on rural land plots has been observed, replacing agricultural uses with tourist–residential uses. This has generated new territorial impacts, such as the transformation of the landscape, the increase in water consumption, and waste production and the intensification of private mobility. In the study area, most of the STR supply is located on rustic land, which has driven a transformation that has contributed to the decline of traditional agricultural and livestock activities, weakening their continuity and profoundly altering the dynamics of the territory.

The post-pandemic period has driven a notable revival of tourist demand, also intensifying the interest in STRs in rural areas [4,101]. In response to this growing pressure, Decree Law 3/2022 was implemented in the Balearic Islands, which established a ban on creating new tourist places until 2026 and introduced mechanisms for their reduction, marking a change in trend in the regulation of tourism in the region. This context has led to the need to review the Plan for Intervention in Tourist Areas (PIAT) of the island of Mallorca, approved in 2020, a fundamental instrument for the organisation and management of tourism in the territory, which is currently in the process of being modified. The new version of the PIAT that is intended to be approved contemplates limiting the number of places in tourist accommodation to 104,000, which implies a reduction of 11,000 places, this being the first time in history that a measure has been adopted to reduce the maximum ceiling of tourist places in the Balearic Islands. These measures seek to establish a stricter framework to control the territorial distribution of STRs and mitigate their negative impacts on the territory and the local community. The reduction in places will also affect rural areas such as the Pla de Mallorca. The Balearic Islands are one of the few cases where the growth of tourist housing in the Mediterranean context has been clearly limited.

By positioning the case of Mallorca in the Mediterranean context, parallels are observed with other islands in the region, such as Sicily, Malta and Sardinia. In Sicily, the expansion of STRs has led to an increase in tensions due to the loss of traditional land uses in favour of tourist activities, which affects the cultural identity and sustainability of the rural environment [102]. In Malta, the density of tourist accommodation has exacerbated housing access problems for residents and generated social conflicts, resulting from the pressure on the island’s limited resources [72]. In Sardinia, meanwhile, the dispersed growth of STRs has significantly transformed agricultural land use, generating tensions like those in Mallorca in terms of sustainability [103,104]. These experiences highlight the need to develop regulatory strategies adapted to the particularities of each island, considering both its geographical dimension and its socio-economic dynamics.

To mitigate the negative impacts and maximise the potential benefits of STRs, it is essential to move towards sustainable territorial planning that preserves the authenticity and cultural values of rural areas. It is also necessary to design inclusive housing policies that guarantee access to housing for residents and stop their displacement, as well as to promote participatory management that includes local communities in policy design. These actions are essential to strengthen the resilience of rural areas in the face of future scenarios of tourism development.

5.2. Scenarios

Predicting the future of the STR market is complex, particularly in the mature island and coastal destinations facing tourist saturation and seeking strategies to regulate their growth [105]. The pandemic has caused significant transformations in the dynamics of STRs, driving new tourist preferences, such as the search for rural and less crowded spaces [106,107,108]. These trends reinforce the potential role of rural STRs as a key component in the “growth machine” of mature destinations, by offering new spaces to diversify and redistribute tourism in the territory.

The concept of the “growth machine” suggests that rural STRs can be both a solution to alleviate the saturation of mature cores and an economic alternative for peripheral areas. However, the development of rural areas depends on the interaction of various factors such as tourist preferences, private investment, attitudes of residents and private agents, and especially legislation on urban and tourism matters. Considering the evolution of the STR offer (Table 3) and the adoption of regulations that regulate or control its growth, the following scenarios are proposed:

• Expansion scenario

If regulations are insufficient or not implemented properly, the rise in STRs will generate an occupation of rural areas close to established destinations, which will lead to the touristification of these areas, in line with what is proposed by the growth machine theory. This implies a displacement of agricultural uses by tourist–residential activities, significant changes in the rural landscape and an increase in the cost of living for residents. These processes will be more intense in island destinations, where there may be greater rejection of these processes.

2.

Moderate growth scenario

In this scenario, local policies will allow a limited development of STRs in rural areas, boosting the local economy and diversifying the destination’s tourist offer. The growth of the housing offer would be directed to less developed rural areas. This moderate growth, controlled by legislation, translates into economic benefits for rural communities without overwhelming local resources or profoundly altering social dynamics and sustainability.

3.

Degrowth scenario

In this scenario, rural areas face significant restrictions due to environmental and social concerns, moving away from the growth machine-driven model. Policies limit the expansion or impose a reduction in the existing supply of rural STRs to prevent problems such as touristification and loss of agricultural resources. While this could reduce the pressure on residents and the environment, it could also negatively impact the local economy by limiting opportunities for tourism development. The Balearic Islands are a good example of this type of measure and how their application has slowed the expansion of STRs in rural areas (Table 3).

5.3. Theoretical Implications

The findings of this study expand the scope of the urban growth machine theory to rural and insular contexts, demonstrating that the logic of tourism capital accumulation is not confined to urban areas but also permeates traditionally agricultural spaces. This insight allows for a broader application of the theory in new territorial contexts and introduces an underexplored insular dimension. Moreover, by linking rural touristification processes with the rejuvenation phase of Butler’s destination life cycle model (1980), the study highlights how STRs operate as key drivers of renewed tourism development in mature destinations.

5.4. Implications for Management and Public Policy

From a territorial management perspective, the results support the use of specific indicators—such as STR density per km² or the proportion of tourist beds relative to total housing stock—as tools for informed decision-making. These indicators can serve as the foundation for zoning policies, licensing limits, or measures to control socio-environmental impacts. For policymakers, the study suggests the need for differentiated regulation tailored to rural contexts, distinct from urban-focused measures, to preserve the balance between tourism activity and territorial sustainability. Additionally, the research underscores the importance of incorporating rural community participation in the policymaking process to prevent social tensions, such as those already observed in other Mediterranean islands

6. Limitations and Future Research

The first limitation of this study is its focus on Mallorca, an island with specific territorial and economic characteristics that encourage the expansion of tourist activity. The impacts derived from tourism and tourist housing are conditioned by the characteristics of each territory, in this case, a small island.

Secondly, the study was based on a quantitative approach that uses territorial indicators and non-parametric techniques to identify spatial trends. Although these methods have allowed us to detect relevant patterns, it would be enriching for future research to adopt qualitative approaches or mixed methods that include the perspective of local actors [39]. In particular, interviews could be developed with residents, STR owners, and other public and private actors in the study area.

Furthermore, the data analysed from Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor do not represent the entire STR offering; they cover a significant portion, but not all.

These approaches would allow us to understand the meanings and assessments that different actors attribute to the process of touristification in rural areas, integrating their experiences and perceptions in the formulation of policies and strategies.

Drawing on concepts from the tourism growth machine theory, this study has explored the role of STRs in the touristification of rural spaces. In doing so, it contributes to an emerging field of research on the spatial behaviour of STRs in mature sun and beach destinations. In addition, it is proposed as a priority to broaden the debate on the future of STRs in rural areas, incorporating the perspective of residents. This approach would allow contextualising the perceptions of rural communities around the phenomenon of touristification, facilitating comparison with the positions observed in urban environments, where this process is usually associated with predominantly negative impacts [109].

Recent studies, such as that of Woo et al. [110], have shown that the negative impacts of touristification can significantly decrease residents’ satisfaction with tourism development. Therefore, it is essential to further investigate the processes of rural touristification from the perceptions of residents to identify both the positive and negative impacts derived from tourism growth and the presence of STRs in these territories. This analysis will allow the formulation of policies that mitigate the adverse effects and maximise socioeconomic opportunities for rural areas.

Replicating this analysis in other Mediterranean islands would offer a broader perspective on the dynamics of rural tourism in island contexts. Islands such as Sicily, Corsica, Malta or Sardinia have different territorial, economic and cultural characteristics, which could provide a valuable comparative framework to assess the impacts of STRs. For example, studying tourist saturation in smaller islands such as Malta versus larger territories such as Sicily could provide information on the impact of STRs based on territorial capacity and available resources. Likewise, the evaluation of public policies in different island contexts would be key to identifying successful strategies and areas for improvement.

Prospective analysis using scenarios, such as those proposed in this study—controlled expansion, over-expansion, sustainable equilibrium and regulated degrowth—could be applied to other Mediterranean islands to anticipate possible future developments and evaluate adapted strategies. It would also be relevant to explore the environmental, social and cultural impacts in these territories, analysing how local communities perceive the effects of tourism, including the loss of traditional land uses and pressure on ecosystems. This research would contribute to designing policies that promote sustainable and balanced tourism development, respecting the needs and values of each territory.