"We feel like we are everyone's scapegoat, not just the hoteliers. Blaming us for overcrowding is demagogic. Of 18 million tourists (in the Balearics), only two million and a bit stay in holiday lets, three million or so are for residential tourism, and around 12 million are in hotels. And this last figure is surely higher, because children under 12 who sleep in extra beds do not count. By the way, if 15% of the obsolete hotels that allow drunken tourism were closed, there would be no problem of overcrowding."
Some years ago, holiday lets were viewed as a means of wider distribution of the wealth generated by tourism. But they are now viewed as the bad guys. Gibert acknowledges that illegal supply has done the sector no favours, but she believes that the debate regarding access to housing is poorly focused.
"It's a very complex issue. It cannot be reduced to, say, a house in Mallorca's interior which would not be on the residential rental market or, if it were, would be at a very unaffordable price. The problems of access to housing have to be attacked from many sides. For example, nothing has been done in promoting public housing." Then there are all the empty properties. "The mayor has himself said that there are 30,000 empty properties in Palma."
Gibert says that licensed apartment rentals constitute only around 12% of the legal supply of holiday lets.
"It is a minimal portion. And the permission of the community of owners is needed. President Prohens has announced that no more places will be granted to apartment buildings. We understand why she has said this, but we do not understand why an equally restrictive measure is not announced for the hotel sector."
But is this because problems of coexistence between residents and tourists are not as pronounced in hotels as they are in apartment lets?
Gibert argues: "Problems of coexistence do not exist from the moment that the community of owners grants permission. Apartment lets have to obtain this permission. In the same way as this permission can be given, so it can be taken it away. The licence is subject to continuous scrutiny by the community itself. We do not understand the hotels' animosity. They say that banning apartment rentals will bring an end to the housing problem. Really?"
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ChrisEliminated? Very Dalek! The Govt cannot just “eliminate” one platform out of many. And there are many but Airbnb is the best known. Everyone would just switch, or a new platform will emerge. Current laws are already quite stringent and fines now up to 80,000 Euros for illegal letting. The real problem is that there’s just no enforcement.
There's actually little hard evidence that tourism is a root cause of the increasing cost of housing. It's actually a problem everywhere, with or without tourism. That is a fact. Mallorca isn't unique at all. In Mallorca's case, there's plenty of evidence that as incomes in Europe have increased substantially, while Mallorca's infrastructure has improved immensely over the past 2 decades combined with a more desirable climate than most of northern Europe (and beyond), and the cost of living increases have generally trailed the rest of Europe (and beyond), AND due to the increase in big name visitors (and residents), Mallorca's global visibility has literally skyrocketed... ... so it's become a highly desirable place to be. Both for tourists, and for property buyers, whether for permanent residence or 2nd homes. That is an undeniable fact, and it's the real elephant in the room. Minimising tourism isn't going to change it, nor will it be possible. They're going to keep coming, no matter what. And people will keep buying properties. So, they can ban tourism, they can ban property sales. They can do lots of things, but none of them will ever happen, because the government that does that will be voted out of office in short order. It's the economy, stupid. So, rather than using a chain saw to conduct brain surgery, searching for ways to accommodate the inevitable would be a more sensible (and more effective) approach, even if unpopular. These are the choices: unpopular or unpopular. Choose one. Easy? No. Chainsaw is easy, but deadly. Fixing this is a very difficult problem to solve. But I suspect that there may be another big global downturn in the cards, and that will send the consciousness elsewhere for a while. It's still not going to be fixed anytime soon.
RickYou ignore the thousands of small, rursl village houses that have been snapped up by foreigners for second homes. Making the villages and small towns unaffordable for Mallorquin families.
Everybody saying don't blame us it's not our fault! The point is that everybody will need to take some pain if the tourist numbers are to be reduced. Obviously illegal lets and airbnb should be the first targets and should be eliminated. But then legal lets, cruise ships and hotels must also take some of the pain if the numbers are to be meaningfully reduced.
Morgan, you are to blame with your eco houses let out to eco warriors. Plain and simple.
Zoltan TeglasI do believe you are right. Indeed immigration workers, wherever they are from, are much more likely to compete with locals in need of affordable housing. More than tourists and more than foreigners who buy expensive properties that the vast majority cannot afford anyhow. Duh. Finally someone.
Morgan WilliamsI know that - my point is that the massive increase in population with next to no affordable housing being built is the biggest cause of house price/rent increases. Flats rented to tourists have contributed to it, but not as much as the above
Zoltan TeglasI seriously doubt imported labour from south America are the ones eagerly paying a million or 2 for a house in Mallorca.
How old is that photo?
The PP government of the early 2000s is to blame - they changed the law to make it easier for South Americans and others to come here (for their cheap labour). Palma's population went up from 350,000 to around 420,000. With very little affordable flats built in that time it's no surprise that rents and house prices have rocketed.