Madrid opens the door to aparthotels in industrial areas and changes the tourism map

Tourism in Madrid is preparing for a shift that could transform the way the city receives its visitors. The City Council has begun procedures to allow the opening of aparthotels, flex-living accommodation and other short- and medium-stay accommodation in sixteen industrial areas spread across eight districts. Until now, these uses were prohibited on more than 240 plots in neighbourhoods such as Chamartín, Barajas, Fuencarral-El Pardo, Usera, Ciudad Lineal, Hortaleza and San Blas-Canillejas.

The decision responds to demand from the tourism sector, which is seeking alternatives in the face of restrictions in the centre and the need to decentralise the offer. After analysing more than 3,000 industrial plots, the City Council has found that many have lost their purely industrial character and have gradually incorporated offices and services, especially on land regulated by Norma Zonal 9 grado 3º, where economic activity has diversified over time.

The municipal plan envisages removing the limitations that since 2007 had prevented accommodation other than hotels from being established in these areas. That regulation was designed to prevent tourist apartments from becoming disguised homes, which meant a loss of land for the economy and caused coexistence problems. The City Council now considers that the evolution of these neighbourhoods allows new uses to be introduced without altering their main function.

The measure forms part of the strategy to decentralise tourism and the objectives of the Plan Estratégico de Turismo de la Ciudad de Madrid 2024-2027. The new special plan will allow areas such as the industrial estate on the Burgos road, the surroundings of the M-30 in Chamartín, Avenida de Andalucía in Usera or the Aeropuerto neighbourhood in Barajas to host flexible accommodation and aparthotels.

The City Council does not rule out extending the initiative to other traditional industrial estates if their urban evolution permits it. Madrid is already beginning to move in that direction, seeking a balance between economic activity and new forms of accommodation.

Norma Zonal 9 grado 3º, key to this change, regulates urban areas originally intended for industry but which have adapted to services and offices. These spaces, spread around the outskirts, reflect the city’s transformation and its ability to reinvent itself according to the needs of each moment. Thus Madrid adjusts its pace and redefines the map of urban tourism.