Barcelona will ban AirBnb apartments in a desperate bid to stop rents spiralling and protect locals from the effects of mass tourism.
Mayor Jaume Collboni pledged that there will be no tourist apartments in the Spanish city by 2029.
If legislation is approved by the Generalitat of Catalonia, municipal governments will impose the ban on AirBnbs by refusing to issue new licenses as well as not renewing existing ones.
Mr Collboni believes this move will open up the market for more short-term lets and make Barcelona more affordable for young people who have been forced out due to soaring rents.
Rental prices in Barcelona have increased by around 70 per cent in the last decade, while the cost of buying a house has risen far more slowly at 39 per cent.
A family walk past anti-tourism graffiti in Barcelona
Mayor Jaume Collboni (pictured) pledged at a press conference in Barcelona that there will be no tourist apartments in the Spanish city by 2029.
A group of tourists on a bike tour pass an anti-tourism graffiti reading Your Trip Our Misery
Demonstrators march shouting slogans against the Formula 1 Barcelona Fan Festival in downtown Barcelona, last week
The Spanish politician said rents were 'skyrocketing' and young people and those on average salaries were being pushed out of the city due to unaffordable housing.
On Friday Mr Collboni said: 'We need housing supply to grow so that people do not have to move out of the city and so that housing prices do not rise and start to fall.'
A licensing system for AirBnbs was introduced in Barcelona in 2011.
Four years later, former Mayor Ada Colau - who is known for his anti-AirBnb stance - prevented property owners from letting out single rooms, according to The Times.
In a further crackdown on mass tourism, the Spanish city raised its 'tourism tax'.
Travellers can now expect to see a hefty €3.25 or $3.52 added to the foot of their accommodation bill for every night spent in Barcelona.
Over 12 million tourists visited the picturesque city in 2023 - many flocking to attractions such as the Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas alley and Park Guell.
Damià Calvet, a councillor from the separatist party Together for Catalonia, called Mr Collboni's new plans 'improvised', 'ideological' and 'not based on legality or the regulation of the rents themselves'.
Maria Harris, of industry body, The Open Property Data Association, said the Mayor's decision 'comes down to politics'.
She added: 'A lot of younger people are being forced to leave the city.
'Lots of lower income families can't find rental accommodation. He [Mr Collboni] thinks the answer is to reduce the amount of homes for tourism.'
A banner reading 'No tourist flats' hangs from a balcony to protest against holiday rental apartments for tourists in Barcelona's neighborhood of Barceloneta
Park Guell is known for its many mosaics and is a top tourist destination in Barcelona
Tourists walk up and down Las Ramblas alley in Barcelona in April 2024
File image shows an anti tourism banner on La Barceloneta beach during a demonstration against 'drunken tourism'
Meanwhile the war on tourism continues in other hotspots around Spain.
Tourists in Costa Blanca could be fined up to €200 or £170 for buying souvenirs from unlicensed sellers.
Boozy holidaymakers have been banned from drinking on public streets in Magaluf.
Anti-tourism campaigners have also been targeting holidaymakers with large-scale protests in Majorca.
Last week, a group of locals blocked holidaymakers from accessing a popular beach on the island.
Shocking video shows a woman sitting across a path leading down to the popular Caló des Moro cove while a local shouted at would-be tourists to 'go, go, go!'
On the beach itself, protesters clapped and jeered as visitors were ejected from the sandy bay, forlornly packing up their bags and trudging up the hill to leave.
Other demonstrators were seen wielding placards reading: 'Beware of locals, we are angry', expressing their rage over rampaging Brits and mass tourism at the Mediterranean holiday hotspot.
More than 200 activists in total descended on Caló des Moro - a favourite spot of social media influencers and regular tourists alike - to heckle any holidaymakers who dared to sunbathe or dip in the cool waters.
In the capital Palma, the 'Less Tourism - More Life' group has been handing out leaflets which read: 'You're not welcome!
More than 200 activists descended on the popular Caló des Moro beach, heckling holidaymakers who dared to sunbathe or dip in the cool waters
'Mass tourism expels neighbours from their homes, wastes necessary resources, eliminates neighbourhood cultures, kills local commerce, increases prices, only creates precarious work and destroys heritage.
'We are not your amusem*nt park!'
A poll by Majorca Daily Bulletin found that around 44 per cent of people will now think twice about booking a holiday on the popular island after huge demonstrations over mass tourism.
Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy The PC Agency warned: 'If this survey is accurate, local protestors should be careful what they wish for.
A reveller collapses onto a wall next to the beach in Magaluf on June 19 as tourists are warned to behave themselves on the Spanish island
The Majorcan (and other local islands) economy relies heavily on tourism to create jobs and bring money into the region.
'It would be a disaster for the area if the protests, however valid, cut off the flow of visitors and reduce income.
'The solution is to work with local authorities on spreading the number of visitors into the shoulder seasons, so there is a flow of tourists throughout the year rather than be concentrated over the summer.'
