In his latest LinkedIn Newsletter, Escarrer says that it is difficult not to take a position on an issue that "concerns us all" - the great debate about tourism. He highlights the difficulties in reaching a consensus on measures to be adopted to achieve "sustainable tourism that can coexist in harmony with destinations and generate a positive impact on local communities". (President Marga Prohens does of course hope that there can be a social and political pact for sustainability.)
Escarrer again targets holiday rentals and the "uncontrolled growth of insufficiently regulated or illegal supply". He argues that expansion of this sector over the last decade is "key" to understanding the situation that many overcrowded destinations are experiencing. This overcrowding is, in turn, leading to "mistrust and rejection (of tourism) by citizens". "This exponential growth in tourist rental places is unsustainable and has a direct impact on access to housing."
He goes on to say that the tourism sector is "mostly aware that we should not grow for the sake of growing". "We should get better without necessarily going further." In this regard, he points to destinations in Spain "that have postponed quality by betting on volume", a strategy that he believes is wrong and which "leads to the degradation and exhaustion of these mature destinations".
Escarrer cites the case of Magaluf and its ongoing transformation. Hotels are emphasising "experiences" and the resort now has high-level gastronomy, an enhanced family tourism offer, and music and literature festivals.
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What utter bollocks!
Lisa JuliaOnce permission is granted for tourist accommodation in whatever form that takes, the numbers can be controlled.
The government has not issued any new tourist rental licenses (ETV) since 2022. This was to protect the island from overcrowding. However if you look at the number of properties available for tourist rental, it has exploded since then. The situation is out of control because the numbers can’t be controlled and those people are breaking the law. Get that under control and the problem is solved.
In Munich, one bedroom flat rents for at least 1200€ per month. A 3 bedroom can rent for as much as 4500€, depending on location Average salaries are in the €60k-€80k range. But many people make much more than that. Particularly the older, more experienced mid and high level managers. In Zurich, the average salary is about €140k per year, and average rent about €3500/mo. I could collect similar stats on many other cities, but the general point is that for much of the rest of the world, Mallorca's climate and lifestyle appears very attractive - and cheap. So, many of those dwellers ask, why stay here, when we could be in Mallorca? We can rent a really nice place for only a couple grand a month. Or we could buy a lovely place for around a million. I doubt the subject of holiday lets ever enters their mind when they start house hunting. And if you think landlords and sellers here aren't going to ask the best price they can get (and they can get it!) then you really need to get out a bit more. Yet the "high" rents and property prices are caused by holiday lets, which account for a mere fraction of the overall housing pool. Right, then.
This is Actually Laughfably common it’s like asking the accused who’s guilty , for sure there’s a problem but Hotels Bear a Huge Chunk of the responsibility for this Mess the holiday let’s as well but not an overwhelming responsibility , cruise ships icing on the cake that’s Madrid that controls that , immigrants ? There’s a lot of them , street sellers , foreign Drug dealers non of these people contribute to the evonomy , not enough police has allways been a problem the police don’t want to come to Mallorca anymore because they get a bad deal , complicated a lot of politics and very confused citizens because there’s a lot of $$$ involved here ! Gonna end Bad ! Gone are the Good times !
And still they want to open more hotels. They have recently opened hotels in the Pere Garau, Foners and the Plaza Madrid areas in Palma. Why? Palma has enough hotels and there is nothing of interest for tourists in these areas. Can the hoteliers not leave 1km2 of Mallorca without a hotel! They are not wanted or needed!
Mr. Escarrer is absolutely correct when he says that vacation rentals are THE MAIN CULPRET for the lack of affordable long term housing. This is a huge problem all over Spain now. The hotels are not to blame for overcrowding; when there are hundreds of flights every day, thousands of cruise ship passengers, and non stop promotion from the Baleares Tourism Board, that is the root of the problem. Of course, there are already too many hotels on Mallorca, but the majority of the new ones are built with foreign capital: Hotel Formentor, Branson's Son Bunyola, etc etc. Mallorca is now in the hospice stage of tourism, quality tourism is going elsewhere, without the overcrowding, traffic, crime, polluted beaches etc.
Lest we not forget that it was largely the hotel lobby that put a end to all new tourist let licences (this was long ago, before anyone mentioned "overcrowding"). The "uncontrolled growth" he refers to, can therefore only be illegally operated, and the only ones to blame for that is the lack of government enforcement. Besides, nobody seems to know how many are actually operating illegally. The "estimated" numbers vary astronomically. The hoteliers have always felt threatened by holiday lets, because it's a product that increasingly attracts a desirable type of tourist that resort hotels simply can't attract. And it's what's bringing (money spending) tourists to areas that previously were not receiving much benefit. Personally, I can't reckon where these zillions of illegal holiday lets are, or how they manage to get bookings. If they do, it's likely very limited bookings for low money. While the legitimate ones are taking all the blame. I can assure you, operating a legitimate Airbnb isn't a cash cow (for the owners) by any measure. After commissions (15-20%), taxes (19-24%), tourist tax (around 1000€ per year) operating costs - Laundry, cleaning, supplies, etc (10-20%), and property maintenance (5-10%), what you're left with hardly resembles selfish profiteering.
Nice deflection, but actual verifiable stats paint a very different picture.
Oh silly me. Over tourism has nothing to do with the mega hotels that can each house tens of thousands or people. And bring in millions of tourists every year. It’s the villa that houses one family that’s the problem. Thank you fat-cat ceo for man-splaining that! Goodness me these ubber rich hotel chain bosses must think people are stupid. Yep, over tourism is bad. Yep, people need affordable homes. Yep, Vox need to stop winding up the protesters and support some positive government moves to put realistic measures in place. The problem isn’t simple. It needs a considered approach. But lying Mr ceo will help nobody. It just annoys people :(