Latest protest about high property prices caused by mass tourism in Alicante

AROUND 1,000 people took part in an anti-mass tourism protest in Alicante City last Friday.

The estimate comes from the Government Delegation and is much lower than for similar protests over the last 18 months in Spain.

It was the third demonstration in a year organised by the ‘Alicante- Where are you going?’ platform.

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Participants demanded cheaper housing as accommodation continues to be expensive due to tourist rentals and holiday home purchases.

Group spokesperson, Jordi Arnes, said that ‘mass tourism is a very big problem in Alicante that is affecting many districts putting pressure on house prices’.

Some banners were in English including one stating that ‘refugees were welcome but tourists should go home’.

The march finished up at El Postiguet beach.

The platform has warned that Alicante is losing its residential and ‘welcoming’ character.

It called for urgent measures to stop the prioritisation of monetary profit over the well-being of residents.

A manifesto was read which appealed to politicians to protect city districts and to guarantee the right to live in Alicante.

Alicante City Council last week voted to extend its two-year moratorium on granting new tourist apartment rental licenses to include blocks of holiday homes.

It also includes suspending any new authorisation for isolated properties, guest houses and tourist hostels.

The apartment ban came into force in January, but is now being legally challenged by the Valencian Association of Apartments and Tourist Accommodation(APTUR CV).

The group says the initial moratorium ‘totally lacks justification’.

APTUR CV president, Silvia Blasco, said: “The amount of tourist housing in Alicante is moderate and there are no areas of the city where the residential market is under stress.”

Blasco added that tourism brought €220 million of income into the city last year.

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