Valencia Joins The Overtourism Fight By Limiting Tourist Rentals

Since the end of the pandemic, travel is back in full force – in fact, numbers have grown so much that the term “overtourism” is now trending. When it comes to Spain, certain popular tourist cities are taking steps to fight overtourism and cut back on house pricing for residents. How will this affect you as a traveler visiting Spain?

Valencia joins Barcelona, the Canary Islands and Madrid against overtourism

The latest popular tourism destination in Spain has officially joined the fight against overtourism. Valencia is planning to limit tourist rentals to fight mass tourism and high housing prices for locals. The main problem is caused by property owners adding their own rental properties to the tourist market, thus pricing out locals seeking to rent a property.

After protests urged authorities to take steps against mass tourism, Barcelona’s mayor promised to shut down more than 10,000 tourist apartments in the city. Now, it is Valencia’s turn.

Valencia’s head of tourism, Nuria Montes has now announced that the local government will fine homeowners as much as €600,000 ($656,646) for renting rooms to tourists on a short-term basis. In the meantime, officials are alerting accommodation platforms to remove this type of vacation rental.

On top of this, all short-term apartments must now offer a 24-hour reception service and Internet access and all rentals require a five-year license to operate.

Vacation rentals increased by 170 percent since 2015

Meanwhile, the number of rentals has been increasing for years. According to Montes, rentals in the city have surged by 170 percent from 2015. Meanwhile, the number of registered vacation rentals has more than doubled since that time, now reaching at least 105,111.

To give back power to the locals, Valencian president, Carlos Mazon has promised to control the housing crisis. He stated that short-term rentals offer “damaging effects which, in the case of tourist apartments, could create social problems, a drop in housing supplies and the consequent increase in prices.”

Moreover, while Valencia already prohibits the rental of individual rooms to tourists, local authorities fined an online platform for listing 5,000 rooms for tourists, which were rented illegally.

The problem with increasing numbers of short-term rentals is that anyone seeking a long-term rental finds it difficult and costly, particularly in urban centers. The University of Valencia’s Institute of Housing published a study that revealed that the city has a deficit of around 20,000 rental units.

Meanwhile, local authorities are aware of the importance of tourism to the city’s economy, which accounts for 13 percent of total GDP, according to research. This means that Valencia has to find a balance between economic benefits and losses from tourism. Mazon stated:

With this legal framework, we provide security and certainty, and we move forward in our model of sustainable tourism that does not renounce anything or condemn anyone.

How are Madrid and the Canary Islands handling overtourism?

Madrid has prohibited the granting of new licenses for vacation rental apartments until 2025. Meanwhile, since April,  the Canary Islands have implemented the Law on Sustainable Management of Tourism Accommodation by which 90 percent of residential buildable areas are used for permanent residence only.

Traveling to Barcelona, Madrid or Valencia?

Travelers visiting these major tourism hubs might not wish to pay hotel rates and would prefer options whereby they can be independent, cooking their own meals in a vacation rental apartment. Meanwhile, each city offers apartment hotels, suite hotels and similar.

Visitors to Madrid can book a suite with a kitchen at Gran Central Suites. In Barcelona, Chic Apartments Barcelona offers comfortable apartments, close to Sagrada Familia and other popular locations in the city with kitchen facilities. Meanwhile, an example for Valencia is Sorolla Urban Suites. In each case, the staff is always available for assistance and tips for enjoying these beautiful cities, while travelers have every comfort available.