Although Spain had a public surplus in 2007, its institutions were adversely affecting economic activities—e.g., unsuitable labor regulation, bureaucratic regulations, high energy costs. But firms’ success in the aggregate legitimated the existing Spanish institutions and tourism firms had no intention to change them. In 2008, however, Spain faced an economic recession and the government took measures to balance the public accounts—e.g., cost cutting and tax increases. These changes negatively affected business activities in the short term, intensifying the effects of both the crisis and the unsuit- able institutions—e.g., sharper contraction in domestic demand and falling profit margins. We now detail how tourism firms responded to this new setting.