Barcelona's Airbnb ban: a sign of things to come?

Crackdown on short-term lets to combat unaffordable housing echoes similar moves elsewhere, but anti-tourism protests could prove self-defeating

 An anti-tourism placard saying 'Tourists go home', at the centre of a demonstration in Barcelona, Spain, June 2024
The 'drastic' decision by Barcelona's mayor comes amid a wider movement in Spain and around the world against overtourism
(Image credit: Paco Freire / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images)

The mayor of Barcelona wants to ban short-term holiday lets in the city by 2028 in an "unexpectedly drastic move", said Sky News.

Jaume Collboni said he would drive Airbnb out of Catalonia's capital by not renewing licences for the 10,100 flats approved for short-term rental when they expire in 2028. Those apartments "will be used by the city's residents or will go on the market for rent or sale", he said, which would tackle the "largest problem" in Spain's most visited city.

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Harriet Marsden is a writer for The Week, mostly covering UK and global news and politics. Before joining the site, she was a freelance journalist for seven years, specialising in social affairs, gender equality and culture. She worked for The Guardian, The Times and The Independent, and regularly contributed articles to The Sunday Times, The Telegraph, The New Statesman, Tortoise Media and Metro, as well as appearing on BBC Radio London, Times Radio and “Woman’s Hour”. She has a master’s in international journalism from City University, London, and was awarded the "journalist-at-large" fellowship by the Local Trust charity in 2021.