Copenhagen was voted one of The Best Cities in the World in the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. To find out all the winning cities, read here.
22.09.2024 - 22:48 / euronews.com / Saskia ODonoghue
As Europe's main tourist season winds down, cities are putting in place legislation to control overtourism and crack down on badly-behaved visitors alongside landlords who run illegal accommodation.
Valencia in eastern Spain has announced plans to cut off electricity and water for illegal tourist accommodation in the city.
The mayor, María José Catalá, believes that providing too much water and electricity to short-term lets has a serious impact on permanent residents.
Local media reported that she told the State of the City Debate the existence of tourist apartments “impacts the price of rents, displaces the population… implies the gradual disappearance of local commerce in favour of shops for tourists, and implies an imbalance in public provisions” which favours tourists over locals.
Catalá appears to be taking the situation very seriously. On behalf of the city council, she has requested the power to sanction illegal tourist apartments, and impose fines of up to €600,000 on landlords who refuse to comply with the new laws.
Records show that, under Catalá, inspections of tourist apartments have increased by 454 per cent this year alone and that police activity against illegal tourist apartments has risen from 73 reports in 2022 to 449 so far in 2024. The closure of some 278 illegal residences has already been ordered this year.
The move comes after the council of the southern Spanish city of Seville was told it was within its rights to cut off the water supply to illegal tourist accommodation.
Before the decision was made in late August, Seville had already disconnected the supply to six apartments which were found to be illegal.
While three of the owners appealed, the judge accepted the council’s argument that the apartments were not the owners’ residences, instead taking the sides of neighbours who had complained about noise.
Seville’s council believes there are some 5,000 illegal apartments in the city, in addition to 10,000 legally licenced ones.
Officials confirmed that the water supply would only be restored once the apartments have reverted back to being regular residences.
Tourism in Seville has boomed since the end of the COVID pandemic. The city of just 700,000 people has seen an influx of around 3.5 million visitors a year, most of them choosing to stay in the small historical centre.
Back in Valencia, and the mayor has also suggested that the city may move to change the rules on cruise ships docking there in the future.
Saying the issue of the boats “deserves reflection” Catalá floated the idea of “limiting and reducing the arrival of mega-cruise ships”.
She announced that there are plans in the works to set up a permanent group with members of the City Council, the Port Authority and the
Copenhagen was voted one of The Best Cities in the World in the 2024 Readers’ Choice Awards. To find out all the winning cities, read here.
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