apartments

Event organizers forecast more than 108,000 attendees

International visitors spend 14% more than last year

A report shows that the economic recovery and the arrival of tenants with a higher income have an influence on the market

The Catalan capital’s action plan against illegal accommodation for tourists resulted in July in the closure of 256 apartments whose activity has been considered illegal, a figure which has to be added to the 112 orders announced in the first half of 2016. Besides ordering the ceasing of their activity, the accommodation websites responsible for the flats, Airbnb and Homeaway, will have to face a 30,000 euros fine for not having the required licence. This has been possible mainly due to the task of the so-called ‘flat scouts’, a figure recently created by Barcelona’s city hall, who have found 234 illegal accommodations, while the official inspectors in charge of this only detected 22. “This is not a summer campaign but an action plan which has come to stay” warned Barcelona’s deputy mayor for Ecology, Urbanism and Mobility, Janet Sanz and emphasised that tourism in Barcelona “is not related to seasons”. 

This is the highest growth registered in Catalonia since 2007, when prices increased by 6.5% and comes after five consecutive months of rising house prices, according to figures released on Tuesday by the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE). Prices rose more in Catalonia than in Spain as a whole, where the increase was around 4%. The number of buying and selling transactions reached 2010 levels, with the previously owned market registering the highest growth. 

The City Council of the Catalan capital has announced it will remit 80% of the fine on tourist apartments with no licence located in Barcelona's Ciutat Vella district if the owners put the property up for social housing rent for a minimum of 3 years. Once this period is over, the owner will be able to extend the social rent or pay the remaining 20% of the fine. The City Council explained that the initiative is "a pilot test" in order "to start changing the city's tourist model", as tourists are too concentrated in some areas. This has created some friction with locals, mostly due to some visitors' wild street parties and to the rise in rent prices, as many properties have been transformed into tourist rentals, quite often without a licence. In this vein, the City Council will ask digital platforms such as Airbnb for the identification data of all their rentals in Barcelona. These platforms will be fined for each illegal flat on offer or if they refuse to issue the requested list.

The Catalan Government has presented a decree, pending approval "in the coming months," that will regulate up to eight types of tourist accommodations, including new types that until now were not contemplated by the law, like motorhome areas, casual Bed & Breakfasts and informal rentals. The decree is an effort to quell the rapid expansion of tourist accommodations in newer platforms – like the Internet service Airbnb – and bring already-existing establishments under control.  The Catalan Minister for Business and Employment, Felip Puig, said all establishments must be registered. For Bed&Breakfasts and Airbnb rentals (or similar platforms) its users must pay a tourist tax of 0.65€ in Barcelona and 0.45€ in the rest of Catalonia. In addition, the City Councils will determine which areas can be used for placement of accommodations.

Barcelona is the 4^th most visited city in Europe and the 16^th in the world, welcoming 8 million tourists each year. It is acknowledged to be Spain's industrial hub where international trade fairs and conferences are being held. In addition, it is one of the top destinations among Erasmus students and the main cruise ship harbour in Europe. However, thanks to cheap airlines, Barcelona has also developed a reputation for low-cost tourism that often focuses on holidays of beach, booze and partying. On the one hand, this shows the young and fun atmosphere of the city and contributes significantly to the economy. On the other hand, according to locals, the so-called ''drunken tourism'' tarnishes Barcelona's reputation and has negative impacts. The City Council aims to control this kind of tourism and is currently attempting to introduce stricter regulations for holiday rent apartments. It has already banned land-based bar crawls around the city and wants to ensure the legality of alcohol-based boat trips as it does not have control over the city's waters.  

The Costa Brava received 6,5 million visitors in 2009. According to latest estimations of Costa Brava Tourism Council, up to 3 million tourists stayed at coastal apartments. The Costa Brava brand is currently the second most recognised destination for foreign tourists, just beaten by Barcelona.

This summer saw a higher percentage of tourist flat occupancy than last year. David Rida, the president of the Association of Tourist Apartments of Barcelona stated that this improvement is due to the “higher numbers of days people are staying and the recuperation of the North American, French and German markets.”