Holiday rentals

While the crackdown may please hoteliers it has dented the takings of small businesses from shops to restaurants and bars, especially in Palma. It appears that apartments of all shapes and sizes were being hired out in the city, in most cases illegally. But at the same time tourists were providing revenue for the owners and of course the business community. Areas of Palma, which had been rather empty of tourists, were all of a sudden welcoming a weekly batch who spent in local businesses. While it was an illicit trade it was a win-win situation for local businesses.

The crackdown has resulted in far fewer holiday rental homes and as a direct result a smaller number of tourists. If only the council had made the law simpler: you can rent out your home as long as you pay tax and the flat in question meets the necessary quality standards. This would have been the best way forward. The local authorities are in danger of shooting themselves in the foot; the illegal rental sector was an important source of revenue for the local economy and it is being lost. I am sure there must have been a far simpler solution.