Another Spanish city turns away tourists saying 'there aren't enough homes'

Pressure on overtourism has spilled into another Spanish city with its mayor declaring war on short-term rents. Barcelona, Spain's second-largest city, has declared war on tourists as it plans to reclaim 10,000 short-term rentals for housing.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni announced on Friday that the City of Counts will revoke the licences of the 10,101 apartments currently approved for short-term rentals by November 2028. It follows much-publicised pressure in tourist hotspots like Tenerife and Lanzarote.

Collboni stated: "We are confronting what we believe is Barcelona's largest problem. Those 10,000 apartments will be used by the city's residents or will go on the market for rent or sale."

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In a subsequent statement, he added: "We want to guarantee the right to live in Barcelona and deal effectively with the housing crisis we have been suffering for years. For this reason, from the city council, we act: No tourist flat in Barcelona. We will recover the current 10,101 ... homes... We improve the 30 per cent rule to make the promotion of affordable housing in the city effective. Administration, society and the real estate sector must join forces to protect the right to housing."

Spain's Socialist Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez backed the move, saying: "This is what it is about making all the necessary efforts to guarantee access to decent and affordable housing. You have my full support in this task. Barcelona will eliminate the city's tourist apartments in five years."

According to Barcelona's Tourism Observatory, the Catalan capital welcomed 16 million tourists in 2016.

However, other areas of the Iberian nation have been pushing back against tourists too.

Mallorca and Ibiza are among the places mounting a resistance against tourists.

Rental restrictions have also been implemented in Spain's Canary Islands, as well as Lisbon in Portugal, and Berlin in Germany.

Holiday rental giant Airbnb has yet to issue a response to this development.

Barcelona's tourist apartment association APARTUR stated that the ban would spur an upsurge in unlawful tourist apartments.

"Collboni is making a mistake that will lead to (higher) poverty and unemployment," it stated.

Despite this, the move is simply a continuation of a recent policy preventing new tourist apartments being established in the city.

Since 2016, Barcelona has enforced the closure of around 9,700 unauthorised tourist apartments, and nearly 3,500 flats have been reclaimed for use as primary residences for locals.