1. Voice and Accountability: _{Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2023).}

   Percentile Rank in Spain was reported at 79.71 % in 2022. _{Trading Economics. (n.d.)}

   
   

2. Political Stability and Absence of Violence/Terrorism:_{Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2023).}

   
   

3. Government Effectiveness:_{Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2023).}

   Government Effectiveness: Percentile Rank in Spain was reported at 77.83 % in 2022. _{Trading Economics. (2024a)}

   
   

4. Regulatory Quality: _{Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2023).}

   Strong regulatory enforcement supports Spain's efforts to ensure quality and safety in the travel and tourism industry.

   
   

5. Rule of Law: _{Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2023).}

   Spain is going through turbulent times, marked by a strong political polarization and an increasingly evident decline in the rule of law due to the partisan takeover of institutions. _{Teruel, M. (2023).}

   
   

6. Control of Corruption: _{Kaufmann, D., & Kraay, A. (2023).}

   Spain has a score of 60 this year, meaning it ranks 36 out of 180 countries. _{Transparency International. (2023)}

   
   

1. Understanding Regional Regulations: _{SGM. (2024)}

• The registration of tourism and leisure businesses is conducted at the regional level. _{SGM. (2024)}

• Location plays a pivotal role in determining the paperwork, processes, timeframes, and even tax considerations associated with setting up a business. _{SGM. (2024)}

• The tourism sector, which is important to the Spanish economy has been one of the industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. _{Vayá, E., Garcia, J. R., Jordi Suriñach, & Pons, E. (2023).}

• The economic impact was also severe. GDP shrank 10.8% in 2020, the deepest recession in 80 years and the harshest in Europe. _{Chislett, W. (2021)}

Unemployment:

• The unemployment rate, which stood at 14% when the pandemic started. _{Chislett, W. (2021)}

• One year after the arrival of the pandemic, the teleworking rate reached almost 15% (2.8 million people).

  _{Chislett, W. (2021)}

• Are gaining traction across Spain and are active on social media. _{Agence France-Presse - AFP. (2024)}

• In Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, activists have put up fake signs at the entrances to some popular beaches warning in English of the risk of "falling rocks" or "dangerous jellyfish." _{Agence France-Presse - AFP. (2024)}

• Locals complain that a rise in accommodation listings on short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb has worsened a housing shortage and caused rents to soar, especially in town centers. _{Agence France-Presse - AFP. (2024)}

  
  

Official EU language(s): Spanish 

EU Member State: since 1 January 1986 

Currency: euro (€) Euro area member since 1 January 1999  

Schengen: member since 26 March 1995  

_{European Union. (n.d.).}

The Spanish legal system is a Civil law system based on comprehensive legal codes and laws rooted in Roman law. _{Berkeley Law, (2019)}

1. Balancing Popularity with Environmental Preservation. _{pyouworld. (2023)}

2. Social benefitin order to achieve a sharing of benefits in the sector. _{Ministerio de Industria y Turismo. (2019)}

3. Sustained economic partner, which should work in favour of competitiveness and profitability of the sector, products and accelerating the process of transformation. _{Ministerio de Industria y Turismo. (2019)}

4. Preservation of natural and cultural values. _{Ministerio de Industria y Turismo. (2019)}

5. Permanent adaptation given that this is not only look to the quality and improvement, but also to enable the industry has responsiveness to the new environment of constant change. _{Ministerio de Industria y Turismo. (2019)}

6. Leadership, which aims at strengthening the role of Spain as a world leader in the sector. _{Ministerio de Industria y Turismo. (2019)}

Spain is known for its vibrant culture, stunning architecture, and beautiful beaches. _{Baglady Meredith San Diego. (2024)}

And with year round tourism taking hold in the nation, the tourism changes in Spain are causing rifts, insinuating riots. _{Baglady Meredith San Diego. (2024)}

The aim is to assess Spain’s tourism industry in terms of political and legal and economic risks.

• The Mediterranean Sea is a key region for climate change. _{de la Vara, A., Cabos, W., Gutiérrez, C., Olcina, J., Matamoros, A., Pastor, F., Khodayar, S., & Ferrando, M. (2024).}

• Heavily populated areas, particularly along the Spanish Mediterranean coast, face growing risks of negative socio-economic impacts. _{de la Vara, A., Cabos, W., Gutiérrez, C., Olcina, J., Matamoros, A., Pastor, F., Khodayar, S., & Ferrando, M. (2024).}

• Variations in temperature, precipitation patterns and the frequency of extreme weather events can profoundly affect tourism demand and the attractiveness of destinations. _{Barrutiabengoa, J., Carta, G., González, N., Pérez, D., Más, P., & Yücel, G. (2024)}

• Spain experienced exceptionally high inflation rates from 2021 to 2023, similar to other Europe countries, marking a significant change from the previous decade. _{Uxó, J., Eladio Febrero, & Álvarez, I. (2024)}

  
  

• Price increases pose a risk to Spain’s tourism economy. _{Uxó, J., Eladio Febrero, & Álvarez, I. (2024)}

• "Applications for registration and authorization are typically submitted to the regional Ministry of Tourism. _{SGM. (2024)}

• Applicants may be required to provide basic information about their companies, including a business plan, physical address, anticipated workforce size, equipment inventory, and other relevant details. _{SGM. (2024)}

1. Climate change.

2. Inflation.

3. COVID-19 tourism crisis on the Spanish economy.

4. Unemployment.

5. Anti-tourism movements.

• Tourism to Catalonia has slumped by 15% in the two weeks since the region’s independence. _{The Guardian. (2017)}

• Tensions between the Catalan and Spanish governments, which has led to Spain’s biggest political crisis for 40 years. _{The Guardian. (2017)}

• Tourist activity in Catalonia had fallen by 15% in the weeks. _{The Guardian. (2017)}

• Catalonia welcomed about 18 million visitors last year, and tourism accounts for about 12% of the region’s GDP. _{The Guardian. (2017)}

• More than 400,000 people in Catalonia depend on the tourist industry for employment. _{The Guardian. (2017)}

• Huge rallies around the 1 October vote on independence are taking their toll.." _{The Guardian. (2017)}

Corporate Tax Rate:

The standard rate is 25% on profits, with a reduced rate of 15% for newly created entities during their first two years of profit. _{PWC. (2022).}

R&D Tax Incentives:

A 25% tax credit can be availed of for expenses incurred from R&D activities. If the expenses are higher than the average R&D expenses incurred by the company during the previous two years, the tax credit is 42% for the excess amount. _{PWC. (2022).}

Patent Box:

Income from the transfer of certain IP rights may be taxed at a reduced rate, where only 60% of earnings from patents is taxed. _{WTS Global. (n.d.).}

To ensure sustainable growth, it is essential to balance economic progress with environmental conservation and the well-being of local communities.

Collaborative efforts between the government, private stakeholders, and local residents will be key to mitigating these risks and fostering resilience.

By addressing these challenges strategically, Spain can maintain its status as a global tourism leader while adapting to a rapidly changing environment.

With a score of 7.94, the country now ranks 24th. _{Euro Topics. (2021)}

Commentators blame the dispute over the independence of the judiciary for the drop in ranking but take different views on who is to blame. _{Euro Topics. (2021).}

Countries are categorised as: Sustainable, Stable, Warning, or Alert, in order of increasing fragility. _{Tuite, A. R., Bhatia, D., Rahim Moineddin, Bogoch, I. I., Watts, A. G., & Khan, K. (2020)}

1. Understanding Regional Regulations:

2. Application Procedures:

3. Civil Liability Insurance:

4. Activity Licenses. _{SGM. (2024)}