Major Spanish tourism companies celebrate the election year they doubled their pressure on the governmentautonomous communities and town halls to achieve effective regulations against the proliferation of illegal tourist apartment offers.
In anticipation of municipal, regional and general elections – a year full of election promises is coming – and also for Spain’s second-semester EU Council Presidency, large tourist groups are demanding and limiting measures. The “uncontrolled growth” of homes for tourist use.
Exceltur is the lobby that brings together the thirty largest companies in the industry (among them big hotels). Meliá, NH, Riu, Iberostar or Palladium) took advantage of the presentation of a report on the tourist competitiveness of Spanish cities -Urbantur 2022- to relaunch the demand for more measures to regulate and limit illegal supply through new state, territory, local as well as community legislation.
“We must regulate and limit the uncontrolled growth of tourist homes,” he condemned Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Meliá and President of Exceltur. “The Spanish Presidency of the EU is a unique opportunity” to achieve this. The sectoral lobby had requested from Pedro Sánchez’s Executive a new legal framework at the state level to enforce regional and municipal regulations that were not actually complied with due to the failure of regional and local governments to enforce them.
And tourism giants have seen the government join their cause and pledge strength to fight illegal housing. The executive assured “solid and strong position supporting European policies to combat illegal housing offersHe underlined that the Spanish brand has been devalued in tourism, which has social consequences. Rosana Morillo, Minister of State for Tourism, in the closing speech of the event organized by the businessmen’s association.
pressure to regulate
Exceltur requests the Government to take advantage of the future Housing Law or approve one or more ad hoc decrees to establish a specific legal regime for touristic homes and their contracts, which impose obligations for online platforms such as Airbnb, Booking. com or Vrbo to curb illegal accommodation marketing and give more power to the property owners communities to put an end to this phenomenon. The Secretary of State has not decided on this possible national legislation, but has signed up to the front to request a community regulation.
And the association of major tourism companies wants to go even further and urges the Spanish Government to take advantage of the current Presidency of the Council of Europe, which it will hold in the second half of this year, and to lead the discussion. Budding community regulation to regulate tourist rentals in the EU and defend its position as the main tourism destination on the continent. “Spain should lead the discussion on European tourism policies. It is open,” he stressed. Jorge Schoenenberger, CEO of Viajes El Corte Inglés.
The European Union is working on a future regulation to extend transparency requirements to digital platforms to stop the offer of illegal tourist apartments. Twenty-seven agreed to create a registry for owners and houses, for which it will be necessary to register for tourist rentals. An agreement that still needs to be ratified by the European Parliament. The government is committed to supporting these community initiatives. combating illegal procurement.
“I don’t understand how a tourism-dependent country like Spain can’t lead the management of a phenomenon. [el del alquiler turístico] José Luque, managing director of the Fuerte Hoteles group, stated that he “comes to stay”. “In some areas the problem is dramaticAnd you have to manage it. Municipalities and autonomous communities look to the central government, which must act and lobby in the European Union”.
Exceltur has made a series of tourism policy recommendations for municipal governments that will emerge from the next elections to be held in 28-A; among them, tourist destinations are required to manage their reception capacity “with special attention to preventing the progressive deportation of residents” (gentrification) from city centers due to the uncontrolled and illegal conversion of residences into tourist accommodation.”
The mayors of Madrid and Seville, who attended the conference, showed that they are in favor of ending the touristic housing supply. “I want to limit [la oferta de pisos turísticos]just not normal”, condemned the mayor of Seville, Antonio Muñoz, “this phenomenon has caught us both state and regionally and locally without adequate legal framework”.
José Luis Martínez-Almeida, the first mayor of Madrid, “The last link of the chain” and called for national and European regulation to prevent online rental platforms from advertising illegal tourist apartments: “Platforms cannot operate with impunity and market illegal housing.”
Madrid beat Barcelona
According to the results of the Urbantur report, based on 63 indicators divided by Exceltur into six study areas, Madrid surpassed Barcelona as the most competitive city in tourism in Spain (attractiveness of leisure product offer, attractiveness of business product offer, competitive conditions of the urban environment and local life, accessibility and mobility, governance and strategic management and performance, economic and social outcomes). They lag behind Madrid and Barcelona in tourism competitiveness ranking Valencia, San Sebastian, Seville, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela and Las Palmas.
Exceltur highlights that as the results of the study, less than desirable progress has been made in integrating tourism effectively and with a transversal vision in recent years. all your strategic urban planning and management decisions. In addition, business has found that political commitment in favor of tourism has slowed during the pandemic, with little identification and forecasting of cities’ new challenges and tourism strategies, or that most cities intensify their efforts and tourism. budgets in marketing and promotion.