Ibiza and Airbnb announce joint crackdown on unregulated tourist flats
The ‘unprecedented’ agreement hopes to see the quality of tourism rise on the island
Tekef
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Authorities in Ibiza have announced an agreement with Airbnb to work together and crack down on unregulated holiday lets on its platform.
Consell d’Eivissa (Ibiza’s Island Council) announced on 20 February that it signed a “historic” and “unprecedented” agreement with the short-term letting platform, along with Ibizan tourist accommodation associations, to collaborate in combating unregulated tourist accommodation on the Spanish island that “that operate on the margins of legality”.
The council says that this agreement will help ensure environmental, social and economic sustainability for the island, as well as enhancing the quality of tourism.
Ibiza is one of the most popular destinations for British tourists, attracting partygoers to its club scene, as well as families seeking beach holidays along its white sand coastline.
However, like many other Spanish destinations, short-term rentals used for holiday lets have become a point of contention with permanent residents.
Airbnb is committing to accelerate the process of removing listings that go against local regulations, as well as working with the council to put measures in place to address the unregulated tourist lets.
So far, 300 accommodations have been taken down as part of this new agreement, yet this number could still rise as the effort is ongoing.
The president of Consell d’Eivissa, Vicent Marí, thanked Airbnb for its collaboration and says the agreement is "a milestone in the roadmap that we set out more than five years ago to lead a relentless fight against the island's unregulated [tourist accommodation] supply".
Tourist accommodation will be removed from Airbnb if the authorities identify it as going against local regulations and Airbnb’s terms of service.
Illegal tourist accommodation in Ibiza includes ‘multi-family homes’ such as flats, rooms inside apartments and homes with multiple occupancy, camping outside of campsites, and those that are not registered and authorised by the council.
The council also has a portal on its website that identifies all tourist accommodations, companies and guides that have registered with the council.
Jaime Rodríguez de Santiago, the general manager of Airbnb’s marketing services said: “This joint commitment between the public sector, Airbnb and the representative organizations of the tourism sector, underlines the common interest in ensuring that Ibiza remains an exceptional and quality tourist destination for future generations”.
The Ibiza Tourist Accommodation Association, the Ibiza and Formentera Hotel Business Federation and tourist promotion company Fomento del Turismo, who also signed the agreement, will be working with the council and Airbnb to promote and assist in tackling unregulated accommodation.
The crackdown on unregulated short-term rentals comes after authorities in Ibiza also implemented new regulations to limit the simultaneous arrival of cruises by allowing no more than two cruises to dock at the same time.
Mr Marí said that while the island is not against the arrival of tourists on cruise ships, better planning needs to be carried out to ensure overcrowding does not affect their residents.
Ibiza is not the only Spanish destination calling for a change in how tourism is managed, with residents in some popular tourist locations have blamed short-term rentals on intensifying housing crises.
A group in Tenerife recently protested over mass tourism on 21 February, with coastal towns being “destroyed” to make way for accommodation for tourists.
Earlier in the month, a Mallorca campaign group that has led large-scale protests against overtourism said it would be “redoubling” its efforts.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
