EU STR regulation

Jamaica closed 2025 with record visitor arrivals and an accommodation licensing framework nearing completion, while Barbados refined its STR regime, the EU’s data-sharing rules entered enforcement, and global platforms reported Caribbean as a standout growth market.

Jamaica’s parliament opened debate on a short-term rental oversight bill in the first half of 2025, while Tax Administration Jamaica issued updated GCT guidance for vacation rental hosts, the EU’s landmark STR transparency regulation began implementation, and New York City marked two years of its disruptive Local Law 18.

Jamaica posted record H1 2024 tourism revenue as its unregulated STR sector grew unabated, Canada’s landmark Budget 2024 restricted STR tax deductions with implications for diaspora investors, the EU’s STR transparency regulation moved toward enforcement, and New York City’s Local Law 18 reshaped urban vacation rental markets globally.

The second half of 2023 delivered three landmark global events: New York City’s short-term rental registration law took effect in September and eliminated 85% of entire-home Airbnb listings; Barcelona’s mayor announced a 2028 phase-out of all tourist apartment licences; and the EU passed its landmark STR transparency regulation in December. Jamaica closed a record tourism year with its informal vacation rental sector estimated at more than 12,000 active units and still unregulated.