Popular Spanish hotspot to fight mass tourism by cutting off water supply for illegal rentals
A message for tourists against Airbnb’s vacation rentals on the outside of a former local store in Madrid,
Reuters
Landlords illegally renting their apartments to tourists in Seville could find their water cut off amid a crackdown by the local mayor's office to curb the spread of short-term lets that is angering locals.
The office of the southern Spanish city's mayor announced this week it is reviewing all the city's holiday apartments and will ask the local state-run water company Emasesa to cut off water supply to properties that do not comply with regulations, if they continue to let them out.
The review has so far identified 715 apartments that do not comply with regulations passed in 2022 that stipulate that holiday rentals must have an independent entrance if they are above the first floor, according to a source from the mayor's office.
The source, who asked to remain anonymous, told reporters the mayor's office was already talking with the owners involved.
A message for tourists against Airbnb’s vacation rentals on the outside of a former local store
Reuters
Several locals protest about the touristification and overcrowding in Seville
Getty
It comes after a surge in tourism over the past few years aided by the spread of holiday lets has led to widespread protests across Spain, with locals complaining that they are being priced out of the rental market.
Local authorities in hotspots such as Seville are cracking down on illegal listings and are scrambling to find ways to limit the proliferation of short-term lets on platforms such as Airbnb.
The mayor's office estimates that between 5,000 to 7,000 holiday lets in Seville are operating illegally, while another 8,000 to 9,000 comply with regulations, according to the source.
A bill currently passing through Seville's parliament plans to ban any more licenses for holiday lets in the old town and the colourful neighbourhood of Triana across the river.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Seville is a very popular destination for tourists
Getty
Meanwhile, the mayor of Barcelona said the Catalan city cannot absorb an ongoing, unbridled growth in the number of tourists and has to impose restrictions so as not to become a "theme park" without residents.
Last month, Barcelona pledged to shut all short-term lets by 2028 to contain soaring rental prices for residents. Earlier this month, images of an anti-tourism protest went viral after a few protesters used water guns to spray tourists amid growing rallies against mass tourism in Spain.
Socialist Mayor Jaume Collboni said he would continue efforts to limit the offer since he can't influence demand, which he said estimates show is infinite and could grow between three per cent and eight per cent a year, which "no city could absorb".
He said: "If you have a theatre with a 300-seat capacity, you cannot sell 500 (tickets) even if you have 200 people queuing... Everything has a limit...Tourism needs to be serving the city's model, not the opposite. That's what we are doing in Barcelona."
Mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, said the city cannot absorb a growth in tourism
Getty
Neither does he plan to ease an existing ban on opening new hotels in the city centre, while also seeking to raise the city tax that cruise ship passengers staying less than 12 hours pay.
The goal, he said, is that arrivals by sea stop growing after reaching a record 3.6 million cruise passengers in 2023.
Meanwhile, Collboni called the water-spraying protest "absolutely reprehensible" and not representing Barcelona's spirit, arguing that all tourists were welcome and the protests should not scare off visitors.