Is Spain introducing a tourist ban for UK visitors? What will happen to British holiday makers booked to go to on holiday in easter and Summer and why is Spain making a drastic change, Brits aren’t that bad as tourists, or are they?
Spain is introducing a raft of new changes for British tourists. The changes will affect holiday lets in the popular Spanish city Malaga, with similar measures to be placed across the country.
New restrictions are set to affect British tourists visiting Spain as authorities in the popular holiday destination increase measures to curb the impacts of overtourism.
Is Spain introducing a tourist ban for UK visitors?
The move follows the wave of anti-tourists protests that has spread across the country and other European destinations over the past year.
Motivated by the impact of British tourists to the local economy. As such Spain is taking aim at the holiday company Airbnb.
Why is Spain making these changes?
The move has come to address locals’ concerns about overcrowding in the city, alongside property prices and rents become increasingly unaffordable for them.
As with several other European locations, the plans take aim at the influx of holiday rental properties which can increasingly be found in the city’s central districts.
Thus hiking up rental for local residents who are being outpriced by the lure of Airbnb properties.
Spain is also introducing a new foreign property tax to curb the surge of laundered British money buying properties in Spain.
Spanish prime minister Pedro Sanchez said: “It isn’t fair that those who have three, four or five apartments as short-term rentals pay less tax than hotels or workers.
“The government’s duty is to prioritise residential use of housing and prevent speculative and touristic uses from expanding in a totally uncontrolled manner at the cost of residents.”
For the next three years, new holiday rentals will not be allowed to be registered across any of Malaga’s 43 districts, matching policies in place in areas across Spain.
The move is unlikely to address the over capacity issue in the market, but it may sure up the the Spanish property market. This move will increase the amount of black market deals that will happen between British tourists, who will ‘lend a property to a friend’.
How will this impact your holiday to Spain?
So what does this mean for British tourists and how will this impact your holiday to Spain? Although it has been called a “tourist ban” by some, the new rules won’t stop tourists from visiting the country. It will, however, have some impact on how Britons should plan for their holidays.
Anti-tourism protests take place in Barcelona, 19 June 2024.
Policies to prevent overtourism are already underway for places in popular destinations like Barcelona, Mallorca and Tenerife. From this year, they will also be coming to Malaga, in the country’s Costa Del Sol region.
What do the plans mean for British tourists?
Holidaymakers will still be able to book hotels, Airbnbs and apartments as usual. So What new rules mean for your holiday?
The biggest change will be that apps like Airbnb will hike up prices for British tourist. They are also likely to add a holiday tax on your booking, but you will probably still need to pay that at the property. So you’ll end up paying it twice.
An additional option for tourists will be to book with your local travel agent and bypass the Airbnb app altogether, which should save on fees.
What other anti-tourist measures are in place in Spain?
The new ban in Malaga follows from similar measures taken in other popular Spanish cities like Alicante and Madrid.
Authorities in Seville are also set to soon follow suit, alongside introducing a charge for those looking to enter the city’s popular Plaza de España square.
In Barcelona, short-term tourist apartments will be banned from 2028. Changes have also recently come to popular destinations, with authorities in Mallorca putting a cap on the number of cruise ships which can dock in its port, and a limit of the number of visitors to national parks being introduced in Tenerife.
