MADRID, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Vacation rental firm Airbnb ( ABNB )

will invest in the promotion of inland towns across

Spain over the next three years to tap into rural tourism, as

major cities restrict short-term rentals in the world's

second-most visited country after France.

Cities such as Barcelona plan to ban all short-term rentals

by 2028, while destinations including the Balearic Islands and

Madrid have demanded platforms cut listings under new

regulations.

Airbnb ( ABNB ) said in a statement late on Wednesday it was shifting

its local strategy and plans to invest $50 million to promote

Spanish villages and expand rental options there.

The Spanish government has also launched a campaign to

spotlight rural destinations, aiming to persuade the 94 million

international tourists who flocked to beaches and big cities in

2024 to visit other parts of the country. For now, the trend is

driven mainly by domestic travellers seeking cheaper inland

holidays.

Airbnb ( ABNB ) said rural destinations in Spain attracted fewer

visitors than those in France and Britain, and only half as many

as Italy. But the platform expects interest to increase ahead of

the 2026 solar eclipse, which will be visible from several rural

areas in Spain.

Nearly a third of tourists visiting Spain opt to stay in

short-term rentals. The number of homes listed for holiday

rentals in May dropped 6% from the previous summer to 1.43

million, after regulations were tightened to ease the housing

crisis, data from the National Statistics Institute showed.