The Costa del Sol has become Spain’s latest holiday hotspot to introduce a major curb on mass tourism.
Some 43 areas in one of the country’s most visited resorts are tightening controls in the wake of major protests from locals in popular spots over the impact of overtourism. Discontent has been growing among permanent residents for a while over issues such as housing shortages and the environment.
It’s led to dozens of authorities in popular resorts bringing in a ban on new holiday rentals being registered. The veto is currently in place in 43 districts of Costa del Sol’s capital, Malaga city – an area famed for its popularity with British tourists.
Officials in the city approved the measures in December, which came into effect on Tuesday. They’re due to stay in place for three years, putting a cap on the amount of accommodation available for tourists, although it’s expected it will be extended.
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It followed a recent study which discovered that, in some areas, nearly one in 10 (8%) family homes in these areas were taken up by holiday rentals. It’s hoped the drastic measures will significantly halt the growth of holiday rentals in the city.
Now no new tourist accommodation can be registered in 43 most crowded areas of the city, including the historic centre, El Ejido, La Merced and dozens more districts. It’s thought neighbouring countries France and Portugal could also follow suit if the scheme proves successful, with concerns among their populations too over mass tourism.
Malaga however is far from the only place in Spain with growing disharmony towards tourists. Locals in Barcelona last year took to spraying visitors with water guns out of fury, while residents in Palma, Majorca, staged a large protest last summer over tourism, with calls to slash the number of holiday beds by 40%.
Limits approved by Malaga’s local council last June will also remain in force, meaning that tourist flats registered since February 22 that do not have access and supplies separate from the residential section of the building in which they’re based will have their licences cancelled.
In the city, 13,000 holiday rentals are already officially registered, according to Sur in English. After Marbella, it’s reported that Malaga has the second highest volume of holiday rentals.
In June last year, Barcelona’s mayor announced plans to ban all tourist apartments by November 2028. Alicante has imposed a two-year ban on new licences for short-term holiday rentals in order to address concerns over mass tourism and housing supplies. Several areas have also increased the tourist tax charged to visitors including the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and Barcelona.
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