The summer season has ended and, after this parenthesis, the impact of tourism on our society is once again centering public debate. Despite how much and good we owe it as a society, there is no doubt that it is an activity that generates controversy. One of them revolves around apartments and homes for tourist use, an offer that, despite having a greater number of clients year after year, is the subject of continuous attacks and pointed out as the cause of all evils: the lack of housing. and increase in prices, the attraction of low added value tourism, speculation by large holders, etc.
The rental of housing for tourist use is perhaps one of the oldest accommodation practices. When tourism began its journey on the Catalan coast, residents of small fishing villages were already renting their houses to outsiders. This type of accommodation spread and made it possible for many people to enjoy experiences in places other than their usual residence.
This is a type of accommodation aimed at a very specific audience. Most of them are families with children who prefer to stay in a house all together. People of all ages, who do not want to be subject to schedules or restrictions of other types of accommodation and who want to experience the city like its residents, interacting with their surroundings, shopping in its local shops and enjoying a more real, free stay. and relaxed.
The tourist success of Barcelona caused the number of tourist accommodation establishments to grow. Hotels, apartments and tourist homes grew. However, with regard to the latter, their effective control did not occur until the end of 2012 with the regulation that incorporated a series of technical requirements to the activity and a very relevant point: responsibility, which until then belonged to the marketer. , passed jointly and severally to the owner and manager. A process to prosecute illegal offers and the application of severe sanctions to those homes for tourist use that did not comply with the approved regulations was also announced. This meant that a large number of homes that had been operating for years took advantage of the regularization period granted by the Generalitat to adapt to the new regulations. While this type of accommodation proliferated uncontrollably throughout Spain and Europe, Catalonia was a pioneer in its regulation, ensuring that an underground economy activity was legalized, paid taxes and offered a quality offer.
Homes for tourist use, therefore, are subject to a set of strict regulations, which must be compatible with the use plan of each municipality. The quality of tourist housing is frequently questioned, attributing to them the quality of low-cost accommodation that attracts a public with low added value. However, its turnover in 2022 was more than €1,200 million, representing almost 4% of Catalonia’s tourism GDP and 6% of jobs in the sector. This is a demand for accommodation that is growing year after year: today it is chosen by almost 40% of the tourists who visit us and also by 25% of Catalans who choose to spend their holidays without going abroad. As the Barcelona City Council Barometer repeatedly reports, nothing that has to do with drunken tourism, balconies or the degradation of public space has anything to do with this type of accommodation.
We share the current concern regarding the lack of housing and its high cost, especially in cities like Barcelona. However, it is important to point out that housing for tourist use represents 2.56% of the total housing stock in Catalonia and 1.17% in Barcelona, ??so its impact on homelessness, if any, is minimum. Likewise, its effect on the increase in prices is null, since if we analyze the increases in municipalities with and without tourist housing, prices have grown to the same extent. Furthermore, its owners are not large holders. According to data from the Generalitat, 86% of them only have one property that allows them to improve their standard of living with that extra income.
From the apartment sector we are in favor of regulation and planning, but for this to provide predictability and security, it must be based on objective data and realities. We regret that those who should be aware of the interests and correct management of tourism are unaware of relevant issues such as subjection to urban plans for the opening of housing for tourist use, the obligation of our activity to comply with certain standards and requirements, as well as our contribution at an economic and labor level. We must join forces to solve the housing problems that affect us, but without a good diagnosis and analysis of the causes, there will be good headlines, but not optimal solutions. Our group will continue as it has always done, willing to collaborate with the administrations.
