Airbnb donates £1.25m to English Heritage to ‘boost heritage tourism’ | Travel

English Inheritance has accepted a £1.25million donation from Airbnb to support its bid to ‘boost heritage tourism’ and continue the conservation of the UK’s most important historic attractions and homes.

The donation to the charity, which acts as a guardian of the country’s architectural heritage, follows the launch of the rental giant’s new Historic Homes category in July, which includes listings of historic places where stay.

Airbnb has arrived recently criticized after new figures revealed there had been a surge in Airbnb listings in coastal areas of England and Wales, raising fears of ‘theme parks for the rich’. Housing activists say the trend indicates landlords in popular vacation spots may favor tourists over renters at a time when many communities are being hit by rising costs of living.

But the Silicon Valley company said the donation was part of a larger project to “enhance cultural heritage” promoted by the platform.

He said bookings of historic homes on his platform had doubled since 2019. His own data suggests that over 90% of bookings last year came from local UK residents looking for homes in rural areas more distant. Family travel accounted for one in four of those bookings in the first half of 2022.

“We are proud to make a contribution to English heritage that will benefit both local communities and tourists so they can enjoy England’s rich cultural history, including hidden gems in some of the rural areas and least visited countryside,” said Amanda Cupples, Airbnb. Managing Director Northern Europe.

Kate Mavor CBE, Managing Director of English Heritage, said she was very grateful for the donation: “English Heritage is an independent charity and support like Airbnb’s is vital in protecting the Great Stone Circles and the castles, abbeys and historic residences under our care.

English heritage manages over 400 historic sites across England, from Stonehenge to Hadrian’s Wall, Dover Castle to the York Cold War Bunker, and as a registered charity relies on the support of donations to protect the future of these emblematic sites.

But Will McMahon, director of the charity Action on Empty Homes, which coordinated an Action on Short Lets campaign, wondered whether English Heritage should accept a donation from Airbnb.

“Airbnb’s donation appears to serve one purpose – it’s a kind of cultural greenwashing for what has become an investment platform that takes homes out of residential use and makes our housing crisis worse,” he said. he declared.

He added: “Airbnb clearly has a strategic understanding of its own vulnerabilities and, in my view, is making corporate donations to offset the bad publicity they are now receiving across the country due to short stays impacting long-standing local communities in the city, the coast and the countryside. .”

This article was last updated on October 22, 2022. An earlier version of the caption for the main image placed Stonehenge in Derbyshire, rather than Wiltshire.

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