(Bloomberg) -- Spain’s Valencia region, one of Europe’s most popular beach destinations, is cracking down on short-term vacation rentals as officials nationwide grapple with growing anger over mass tourism.
The regional government will fine homeowners as much as €600,000 ($647,000) for renting rooms for short-term vacations, Nuria Montes, Valencia’s head of tourism, said during a presentation of Thursday. The government will immediately alert platforms they need to take out these kind of rentals.
The “unorderly growth” of short-term rentals “creates damaging effects which, in the case of tourist apartments, could create social problems, a drop in housing supplies and the consequent increase in prices,” Carlos Mazon, the Valencia president, said during the presentation.
Under the new law, set to be approved by the local legislature Friday, short-term apartments will also need to offer a 24-hour reception service and offer internet access. Tourism rentals will require a five-year license to operate.
Valencia is the latest Spanish administration to tighten rules for lodging amid a widespread housing crisis and a growing number of protests against tourism. Barcelona, the country’s second-largest city and a favorite among foreign visitors, announced in June it will ban short-term rentals over time.
In an unexpectedly drastic move, Barcelona said it would close down more than 10,000 tourist flats currently licensed by the authorities. Local governments in the Canary Islands and Madrid are also set to tighten rules for these properties.
Although tourism is the most important industry in Spain, the world’s second-most visited country, short-term renting is widely considered a key driver for record property prices. This, and the impact of mass tourism on residents’ quality of life, has spurred protests in recent months.
Tourist rentals in Valencia have surged 170% from 2015, according to data provided by Montes Thursday. The region is home to Benidom, considered the birthplace of package tours and a popular destination for beachgoers from the UK and elsewhere across Europe.
Although protests against mass tourism first emerged in Spain before the pandemic and have been escalating since then, the frustration gained global attention in July after images spread online of protesters soaking tourists with water pistols in Barcelona. Rallies were also held recently across the Canary Islands and in Málaga.
Tourism is expected to account for 13% of total GDP and a fourth of Spain’s economic growth in 2024, according to CaixaBank Research. In Valencia tourism was 16% of GDP last year, according to government data.
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