(CNN) — Tourists sprawled on the sidewalks, trash piled up in the streets and thousands lined up to enter museums. Overtourism seems a long time ago now, but the scars are still being felt in Italian cities, where locals have been squeezed out by Airbnbs, businesses have been drowned out by souvenir shops and entire economies have been hijacked by tourism. , then hung to dry.
But as destinations adjust their marketing budgets for post-pandemic travel and countries and continents begin to develop vaccine passport plans, two of the European cities hardest hit by overtourism have drawn up a tourism manifesto for the future.
The joint “decalogo” of Florence and Venice – literally a list of the ten commandments – was sent to the Italian government. It outlines 10 things authorities in both cities want to see happen as thoughts turn to returning travel.
And as part of that, they want to limit Airbnb.
“The phenomenon of short-term rentals must be better managed with clearer rules at the national level”, specifies the document, specifying that certain people “hide a business behind a rental” without being subject to the same regulations as the hotel profession. Additionally, rentals pay considerably less tax than bed and breakfasts and hotels – 21% versus 60% – meaning they can easily undermine registered businesses.
“The consequence is that too often an unqualified offer weakens the overall offer of the country”, they specify, adding that short-term rental is an “unfair competition” with hotels and can “generate problems in the district”, when it comes to apartments within a residential block.
Rentals “promote the emptiness of historic centers due to soaring medium and long-term rental costs.
“This deepening, perhaps not so visible until now, and perhaps underestimated, is now clear to everyone, especially in cities like Florence and Venice,” the report adds.
A 90-day limit for Airbnbs
Urging the government to “grasp the situation in a serious and forward-looking way”, they suggest classifying all rentals of less than 30 days for tourism purposes, and imposing a limit of two such rentals on owners per city, and an Annual Limit of 90 days for rentals.
Many properties on Airbnb are owned by real estate investors who buy a handful of apartments for rent in Italy’s art cities. They are often the cheapest, raise prices and crowd out locals from the market.
Those who own more than two properties, or rent them for more than 90 days, should register as a business, the mayors suggest – in which case they would be subject to this tax regime which is three times more punitive.
Cities are following in the footsteps of other overly touristy destinations including Paris, which allows people to rent out their primary residence for just 120 days a year; and Barcelona, which is considering a ban on short-term rentals.
What the locals think
Florence’s art galleries, including the Uffizi (pictured), have been beset by overtourism
ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP/Getty Images
Residents seemed positive about the proposals, although some had reservations.
“If you’re staying in a hotel or B&B like mine – which is still an apartment – you’re giving money to a place that provides jobs and impacts the economy of the area. That’s very different.”
She continued: “It is not good to see the city center completely emptied of its inhabitants, as has become clear during the pandemic. Florentines live in the suburbs; in the center it is almost empty. And this is not nice to see for tourists either.
“In some places you don’t even meet the host – you enter a code and get the keys. It’s the complete opposite of what Airbnb says, and it’s not tourism – it’s hospitality. real estate speculation.
The Venetians agreed, but were more hesitant.
“In order to ensure a positive impact of such regulation, it would be important to encourage long-term rentals, to apply the new rules in a visible way and to use the income from rent taxes for the benefit of the local community.” She cited an affordable housing plan as one such use.
But she warned that the “steady growth” of the hotel sector in Venice should also be capped or the proposals risk being seen as “a boon for deep-pocketed players and a loss for residents just looking to earn a few extra dollars to be able to stay in their city.”
“It’s really interesting that, for the first time, these proposals differentiate Italian art cities from the rest of the country,” she said. “Until now, we’ve only ever talked about regulation at a national level, which doesn’t make sense because what might be great for Venice would be useless elsewhere. So it’s smart to treat these cities differently. “
Although Rossi never facilitated tourist rentals “on principle — seeing how they took root, I realized how damaging they would be to the historic center” and generally opposed to them, she argued that “a 360-degree approach across the entire hospitality industry” is needed.
“Otherwise you end up acting in the interests of the big hotels, which are turning whole buildings that were residential into hospitality blocks.”
“It’s fair to regulate tourist rentals, but we have to remember that there are people who have bought properties and restored them – restoration work that has made a lot of money for the city – assuming that they could make money And you can’t change things overnight when people have made an investment.
“Until 10 years ago there were so many abandoned apartments – they were in a pitiful state. It was too expensive to restore them because the cost of maintenance in Venice was too high.”
In reaction to the mayors’ proposals, an Airbnb spokesperson told CNN:
“Travel is changing – in the last quarter of 2020, more guests stayed in Sicily than in Florence and Venice combined – and we look forward to working with cities to help local economies rebound.
“Leaders in Florence and Venice have made it clear that they support ordinary people sharing their homes and we look forward to working together on a way forward that supports families and communities.”
These other commandments
Other initiatives include the need to “preserve the historic and cultural character and fabric of cities” by allocating new store openings only to those selling high-quality artwork and local products, and introducing window rules to improve the street environment.
Public transport ticket prices need to rise to make up for the lack of tourist income during the pandemic, they add.
But it’s not all punitive – they also want to see more environmentally friendly transport.
Calling the cities “two global symbols of beauty”, Florence Mayor Dario Nardella said in a statement that Florence and Venice were “signing a pact” to “relaunch Italy’s image and attraction”. .
“International tourism in Italy will only start if the cities of art start,” he added.
“As soon as the borders reopen, the country must be ready.”
Venice Mayor Luigi Brugnaro said the document was an opportunity to put forward “ideas from an organizational point of view of cities, which we have been fighting for too long to get people to listen to”.
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