I live here (!barcelona@piefed.social), the mayor who announced the decision made it so that it would applied after the end of his tenure (that will end in 2027, the decision is supposed to happen in 2028)
The other issue is that even besides tourism, Barcelona is a very attractive city for Spanish people due to the work opportunities, and there is definitely a lack of supply for the housing market. Getting back the Airbnb would help with the mass tourism (which is an issue of its own), but the housing crisis might still be there for a while.
It’s a bit different, Amsterdam and Paris are touristic destinations, but not to the same level as Barcelona.
By absolute numbers, Paris has obviously more visitors (22 millions vs 13 for Barcelona and 10 for Amsterdam), but Paris is much more populated than Barcelona.
Also, the type of tourism is quite different. Amsterdam and Paris are more expensive, while Barcelona is still seen as a cheaper destination, which brings a different type of crowd. On the same topic, the average level of income of the people living in Barcelona is quite lower than people living in Paris or Amsterdam, making it even more difficult for people living in Barcelona to compete against either tourists or “digital nomads” coming here to work without paying taxes locally.
No I get it is not the same but the problems are similar. Too many tourist in a city with too few houses and apartments that are now being used as bnbs.
Yes indeed. I think in Europe the worst is probably Lisbon, that has basically been overrun by foreigners, but that’s a common phenomenon in all major cities.
I did know about Lisbon. I remember hearing the Swiss canton of Vaud had around 60% of it’s population was foreigners. Which resulted in the local Swiss no longer being able to afford any form of housing anymore.
For more details: https://www.euronews.com/travel/2024/07/22/the-end-of-airbnb-in-barcelona-what-does-the-tourism-industry-have-to-say
I live here (!barcelona@piefed.social), the mayor who announced the decision made it so that it would applied after the end of his tenure (that will end in 2027, the decision is supposed to happen in 2028)
The other issue is that even besides tourism, Barcelona is a very attractive city for Spanish people due to the work opportunities, and there is definitely a lack of supply for the housing market. Getting back the Airbnb would help with the mass tourism (which is an issue of its own), but the housing crisis might still be there for a while.
So it is the same as in the rest of Europe with a helping of mass tourism so similar to Amsterdam and Paris.
It’s a bit different, Amsterdam and Paris are touristic destinations, but not to the same level as Barcelona.
By absolute numbers, Paris has obviously more visitors (22 millions vs 13 for Barcelona and 10 for Amsterdam), but Paris is much more populated than Barcelona.
Also, the type of tourism is quite different. Amsterdam and Paris are more expensive, while Barcelona is still seen as a cheaper destination, which brings a different type of crowd. On the same topic, the average level of income of the people living in Barcelona is quite lower than people living in Paris or Amsterdam, making it even more difficult for people living in Barcelona to compete against either tourists or “digital nomads” coming here to work without paying taxes locally.
Sources
No I get it is not the same but the problems are similar. Too many tourist in a city with too few houses and apartments that are now being used as bnbs.
Yes indeed. I think in Europe the worst is probably Lisbon, that has basically been overrun by foreigners, but that’s a common phenomenon in all major cities.
There, FTFY
Greedy real instate investors bought everything there because there was a demand from non Portuguese people with much higher salaries than the locals.
You don’t see that type of phenomenon in random towns in the Portuguese back country
I did know about Lisbon. I remember hearing the Swiss canton of Vaud had around 60% of it’s population was foreigners. Which resulted in the local Swiss no longer being able to afford any form of housing anymore.