In general, three years after the “closure for covid”, anti-tourism rallies began to return en masse. “Stop tourism!” – under this slogan, mass rallies against tourists were held in the capital of the country beloved by tourists. It is about Spain and specifically about Madrid.
According to the Spanish press, the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, said that they have put a lot of effort into checking and imposing sanctions on houses that are rented out to tourists. However, the adopted resolution did not work, and the authorities are working on a new resolution.
Meanwhile, residents are protesting. Their main culprit is renting out houses. Which, according to those who raised the fuss: “Stop tourism!” – this leads to an increase in housing rental prices and worsens living conditions. This is what the participants of the rally, organized by district associations and more than thirty organizations, who chanted the slogan “Stop tourism” said.
Madrid and Barcelona are working together to find a common solution to regulate the construction of accommodation for tourists, the authorities added. In Barcelona, they are once again trying to influence tourists through the wallet: the city council wants to increase the accommodation tax, or rather the overnight tax, which is currently 5 euros for residential properties, from April 2024 it will be 6.25 euros. This amount is similar to the amount currently paid by guests staying in 5-star hotels.