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Tourism vs. Locals: Barcelona’s Battle Against Airbnb
The city’s mayor has pledged to kick Airbnb out of the city within five years by revoking more than 10,000 short-term tourist rental licenses. The announcement follows anti-tourist protests in Mallorca and the Canary Islands which, like France’s indiscriminately angry gilets jaunes, began with a specific beef that will likely become ragged and riotous as time goes on. This year has also seen the introduction of a tourist tax in Venice (reports suggest it isn’t enforced at all) and crackdowns in Amsterdam, including a reported ban on new hotel construction. Welcome to Europe’s war on tourists. It’s true that extortionate prices for locals by Airbnb buyers and developers detract from a place’s authentic charm, for residents and tourists alike.
Airbnb as a Disruptive Force
Presumably, though, Airbnb has also been a gift to the many low-income people who own old family properties in the heart of Lisbon, Palma or Palermo; it’s not as if the Mediterranean economies are so vibrant or uncorrupted that these home-squatters can easily stumble upon a windfall any other way.
Part of the anti-tourism anger, of course, is Southern Europe fuming at having become a historic draw for Americans, Brits and Asians; tourism accounts for over 10 percent of Italy’s GDP, 12 percent of Spain’s and a whopping 15 percent of Portugal’s (compared to 9 percent in the UK). But as we in Blighty have long understood: spite the tourists, you spite yourself.
The European anti-tourism movement is no joke.
It’s sinister in the usual way that “destroy capitalism” movements tend to be: they worship bureaucracy and are against progress, wealth, social mobility, private property, people from other places and, of course, the ability of people who were previously too poor to travel. In the case of Spain, which has the highest unemployment rate among OECD member states, one can’t help but wonder whether being anti-tourism is just a way of passing the time with a sense of moral virtue.
Yet it’s also hard not to feel a little glee at the Barcelona ban. Airbnb has become one of the worst companies on the virtual high street. The irresponsibility of the “hosts”, the absurd “house rules”, the exorbitant “cleaning” and “service fees”, the extremely inconvenient and specific check-in and check-out times, a myriad of nightmares with keys and lockers in the middle of the night with screaming children, plumbing issues, general scams… Horror stories have become a very popular genre on X, formerly Twitter, and I confess I enjoy reading them.
After all, as an Airbnb guest for a decade or more, I too have noticed a rapid decline in recent years. Even so, the only bad experience I had was with a sarcastic and slightly aggressive German girl who rented me her dark and dreary apartment in Munich for a night (she accused me of breaking something that was broken upon arrival); I had been lured into booking by her rave reviews.
The whole thing was expensive and left a sour taste in my mouth. Then there’s the huge amount of emotional and administrative work that goes into staying in an Airbnb: the WhatsApp messages with people who often don’t speak English, the forced cheerfulness and use of emojis lest you get a bad review, the ability for hosts to cancel days before check-in, the endless instructions on how to get into people’s apartments in city centers, which can be a lot when you’re fresh off a plane in the scorching heat and groggy from a 4 a.m. wake-up call.
And so, in a way, there’s a kind of correspondence, or satisfaction, in the two going up in smoke together: the European tourism industry and the horrible Airbnb that had its day, then ruined everything.
Balancing Regulation and Innovation
In reality, of course, the right response would be to let Airbnb run amok rather than regulate it out of existence. But the latter is what Europe does best. So, no: I find it hard to feel sad if the mayor of Barcelona were to follow through on his threat and ban Airbnb. But the city’s residents are wrong if they think that a war against tourists can solve their problems.
Indeed, the situation with Airbnb is complex. While some argue that allowing market forces to shape its fate would be the most natural course, regulation often becomes the default response. Europe, with its penchant for bureaucracy, tends to lean toward the latter.
As for Barcelona’s mayor potentially banning Airbnb, it’s a contentious issue. While it might address some immediate concerns, a war on tourists won’t necessarily solve the city’s deeper problems. Balancing the benefits of tourism with the well-being of residents remains a delicate task. Perhaps a more nuanced approach—one that fosters responsible tourism while preserving local authenticity—is the key.