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Date Published: 27/09/2024

The fight against overtourism: Costa Blanca towns are refusing tourist licences on holiday apartments

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Several Alicante municipalities have decided to put the brakes on new holiday home licences

The fight against overtourism: Costa Blanca towns are refusing tourist licences on holiday apartments

In a bold move to reclaim their communities, towns along Alicante’s Costa Blanca coastline are taking a stand against the unbridled growth of tourist apartments.

El Campello is the latest municipality to join the fight against overtourism, announcing plans to suspend licences for holiday homes for the next year. This decisive action follows in the footsteps of neighbouring towns including Sant Joan d'Alacant, Altea, Dénia, L'Alfàs del Pí and Polop, which have already taken similar measures to curb the proliferation of tourist apartments.

The announcement was made by regional President Carlos Mazón, who shared some shocking statistics to back up his proposal. The town is currently home to an impressive 1,800 tourist apartments, dwarfing its eight hotels, three campsites and three camper areas.

These accommodations provide a staggering 12,200 beds, with a whopping 9,500 of them located in tourist apartments. While this may seem like a boon for the local economy, the reality is that the town is struggling to cope with the strain on its infrastructure and resources.

In addition, municipalities with a glut of holiday homes tend to have fewer long-term rentals available for residents, and those that do come on the market are often drastically overpriced. The unfortunate reality is that landlords can make more money renting their properties out to tourists in the short term.

El Campello mayor Juanjo Berenguer described the proposed ban on tourist licences as “interesting” and “necessary”. The previous administration, he said, “indiscriminately granted licences for tourist apartments, without any kind of supervision, and that is why some municipalities are now overwhelmed... We will finally achieve a bit of coherence.”

The proposed decree on tourist apartments will be discussed at the next plenary session to determine the best course of action. While the details of this licence suspension are still under wraps, it's clear that the goal is to fundamentally rethink the town's urban model.

By hitting the pause button on tourist housing, El Campello hopes to reassess its approach to tourism and find a more sustainable balance between economic growth and community well-being.

In other news: Thieves toss luxury BMW into Orihuela Costa canal

Image: Zarateman via Wikimedia Commons

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