Thousands protest in Spain as tourists price locals out of their homes
There were also protests against the America’s Cup yachting race in Barcelona
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Thousands protested on Sunday in Madrid to demand more affordable housing amid rising anger from locals who feel they are being priced out of the market.
Under the slogan “Housing is a right, not a business”, residents marched in the Spanish capital to demand lower housing rental prices and better living conditions.
Twelve thousand people took to the streets, according to the Spanish government.
Spain is the world’s second-most visited country after France and estimates point to a record of around 95 million visitors this year, or double Spain’s population.
“Spaniards cannot live in their own cities. They are forcing us out of the cities. The government has to regulate prices, regulate housing,” said nurse Blanca Prieto, 33.
In July, Spain’s government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings. It plans to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify if they have licences.
Spain is struggling to balance promoting tourism, a key driver of its economy, and addressing citizens’ concerns over unaffordably high rents due to gentrification and landlords shifting to more lucrative tourist rentals.
Authorities are encouraging the expansion of luxury hotels as they said they are cracking down on a surge in holiday rentals.
The hotel sector has faced local restrictions on expanding but is now seen as a beacon for the high-end tourism officials seek to lure.
Local people have staged protests this summer blaming booming short-term holiday lets for soaring costs of housing and overcrammed city streets, prompting a thorny debate about how to limit one of the economy’s main drivers.
Barcelona - the Spanish city most visited by foreigners - and Tenerife in the Canary Islands announced earlier this year a ban and stricter rules on tourist apartments, respectively, aiming to sharply reduce supply.
In a separate demonstration in Barcelona on Sunday against the America’s Cup yachting race, protesters blamed the international sporting event for pushing up rental prices and bringing more tourists into an overcrowded city.
Residents of the Canary Islands and Malaga have also staged protests this year against the rise in tourist rentals. Seasonal hospitality workers struggle to find accommodation in these tourism hot spots, with many resorting to sleeping in caravans or even their cars.
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