Fury as tourism hot spot in Spain begins tourism crackdown

Tourists who love the stunning Spanish holiday destination favored by Brits have been warned of a new ban. Barcelona is to reclaim 10,000 short-term rental apartments to be repurposed for local housing, signaling a major shift in its tourism strategy.

Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni announced that by November 2028, the city plans to withdraw the licenses for 10,101 apartments currently used as short-term rentals. “We are facing what we think is Barcelona’s biggest problem,” said Collboni.

Collboni also said: “Those 10,000 apartments will be used by city residents or put on the market for rent or sale.”

He emphasized the importance of defending the right to live in the city and tackling the housing crisis, saying: “No tourist apartment in Barcelona.”

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“We will recover the current 10,101 homes. We are improving the 30 percent rule to make the promotion of affordable housing in the city effective. The administration, society and the real estate sector must join forces to protect the right to housing,” he added.

Spain’s Socialist Minister of Housing, Isabel Rodriguez, expressed her support for the initiative, commenting: “This is what it’s all about making all the necessary efforts to guarantee access to decent and affordable housing. You have my full support in this task. Barcelona will phase out the city’s tourist apartments in five years.”

In response to this, one Briton commented: “I think we Brits should boycott Spain for a few years. There are plenty of destinations other than Spain to enjoy a sunny holiday.”

“We have a housing crisis in the UK too. So anything the government can do in countries to provide affordable housing to their people is a bonus. There are plenty of hotels and self-catering resorts available in holiday locations. They don’t need it. let’s be greedy and turn local houses into vacation let’s make huge prices,” another person added.