The beautiful city of Florence, known and loved by travellers all over the world, is following in the footsteps of other European cities in order to tackle the increasing number of tourists.
Florence welcomes millions of tourists every year, with it expected to reach 15 million by the end of this year, the city is now taking action to challenge overtourism.
Short-term rentals are a major issue in Florence. The city currently has the highest density of Airbnb and short-term rental listings in the whole of Italy, which has led to a reduction of houses on the market for locals.
As a result, it has become the first city in Italy to install a block on new short-term rentals in the historic centre, and the number of listings has doubled to over 14,000 since 2016.
Mayor Sara Funaro has also announced a ten-point plan devised to improve the situation and protect local residents from the impacts of overtourism.
City officials have said that actions which will come into effect in 2025 will preserve the UNESCO-listed history centre as a “living and unique city” for residents and visitors.
The action plan will include bans on key boxes, golf carts and loudspeakers for tourism issues, as locals have expressed that key boxes enable short-term rentals that force residents out of the city.
In a recent protest, Florence campaigners decided to tape red Xs over the key boxes with “Let’s save Florence so that we can live here” written on them to show their fury over holiday rentals that have caused the displacement of residents and local businesses.
According to news site Skift, Jacopo Vicini, the city’s councillor for economic development and tourism, shared that short-term rentals have had a “very significant impact on the cost and availability of local housing” which has a direct impact on the community.
He told Skift: “When you remove long-term residents, you remove the customers for the small shops and businesses in the immediate neighbourhood.”
The Italian government are working to implement laws across the whole country to restrict short-term rental operations however, with 70% of the 11,000 listed ones in Florence being in World Heritage sites it left residents calling out immediate action.
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