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TOURISM

Spain’s Vigo to fine beachgoers who ‘set up camp’ and dominate space

The city's mayor has warned that beachgoers who hog space on the beaches in the northern city could soon be hit with some pretty hefty fines.

Published: 29 August 2024 15:05 CEST
Spain's Vigo to fine beachgoers who 'set up camp' and dominate space
Tourists bask in the sun on the beach. Photo: JOSE JORDAN/AFP.

Local authorities in the city of Vigo in northern Spain are set to crackdown on beachgoers who set up camp and dominate space on the city’s beaches.

Vigo city council will prohibit the use of ‘windbreakers’ and other large objects used to block off and create private areas on the beach and will implement the rules with fines.

This was announced by the city’s mayor, Abel Caballero, who explained that the fines will range from €751 all the way up to €1,500 in the event of repeat offenders.

READ ALSO: Ten colourful characters you’re likely to spot at Spain’s popular beaches

According to the rules, it will be considered a serious offence to “camp, set up tents, canvas structures or similar” on the city’s beaches.

Posting on Twitter/X, Caballero stated that there has been a sudden increase in the number of people using them: “In view of the sudden proliferation of the use of windbreakers on Samil beach, Vigo city council carried out an information operation this morning to inform users.”

In recent weeks several examples of beachgoers hogging sand space have been uploaded to social media. 

Caballero also made clear that the many beachgoers who use windbreakers or other large objects to separate spaces do not do so to protect themselves from wind but rather to secure a spot on the beach and reserve it all day.

This mainly happens on the city’s famous Samil beach, the mayor added. He also suggested that large constructions and private areas can prevent lifeguards and emergency services from carrying out their work.

“The regulations prohibit obstacles so that lifeguards and rescue personnel can act. We are trying to fix this without imposing fines, but if this continues… we will impose fines,” he explained.

“It is a real shame what is allowed on the beaches these days,” said one Twitter/X user when uploading a picture of Samil beach split up by private areas running from the shoreline all the way to the promenade. 

Vigo, in northern Spain’s Galicia region, welcomes a large influx of tourists every year. It is particularly popular with Portuguese tourists and Spaniards from southern Spain moving north to try and escape the sweltering summer temperatures.

The debate about beach etiquette is nothing new in Spain, nor is tension between locals and tourists and wider discussion about Spain’s tourism model in general.

Some small towns in Andalusia in southern Spain have also threatened beachgoers with fines in recent years, and popular tourist destination Benidorm, in the Valencia region, has created so-called ‘security corridors’ on beaches to facilitate access in case of emergencies due to large crowds.

The crackdown in Vigo is further evidence of shifting attitudes in Spain towards tourism and the type of tourism it wants to attract. In recent months Spain has been swept by a series of anti-tourism protests, including in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona and Málaga, as well as traditional island destinations like the Canary and Balearic Islands.

READ ALSO: Should I cancel my trip to Spain because of the tourism protests?

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TOURISM

Spain’s Dénia to stop issuing licences for tourist apartments

The Costa Blanca town of Dénia in Alicante will become the latest place in Spain to temporarily ban new licences for short-term holiday lets, with the mayor stating that "uncontrolled growth" is causing "coexistence conflicts" with neighbours.

Published: 26 August 2024 16:53 CEST
Spain's Dénia to stop issuing licences for tourist apartments

Many destinations across Spain have been cracking down on tourist apartments over the last few months given their impact on rents and property prices for locals, as part of a broader problem developing in the country as a result of mass tourism and gentrification.

Dénia, capital of the Marina Alta area of Spain’s eastern Alicante province, will be the latest in a long line to introduce restrictions to try and curb a growing number of Airbnbs and other holiday lets.

The local council have announced that in the next plenary session they will impose a moratorium on the granting of new tourist licences, which are necessary to legally rent out properties to tourists in many areas across the country.

The suspension will be in force for one year, as is what happened in May in Valencia, but will be extendable, so it could be for much longer.

The ban will only affect the urban area of Dénia itself and not other parts of the municipality such as Les Marines, Les Rotes or Montgó.

The decision to suspend licences was based on a study by the University of Alicante which evaluated a series of proposals to cut down on the number of holiday lets.

In the end, local authorities have decided to follow in the footsteps of several other Spanish cities including Barcelona, Valencia and Seville, which have also put a stop to new licences.

Dénia council will also look into other measures proposed by the study which are aimed at developing a tourism model for the future.

READ ALSO: Which cities in Spain have new restrictions on tourist rentals?

Dénia currently has about 45,000 properties, around half of which are second homes which are rented out and/or used as holiday homes by the owners.

Out of these, there are 5,000 legal tourist rental homes, which means that many of them are either rented out illegally or are only being used by owners.

According to 2023 town hall figures there are 10,500 foreigners registered out of 43,900 people in total living in Dénia, meaning that many of these properties are more than likely owned by foreigners.

Dénia mayor Maria Josep Ripoll said: “the density of this type of accommodation is beginning to be worrying”.

She also warned that “uncontrolled growth” was causing “coexistence conflicts” with the neighbours in buildings or complexes where the houses and flats are located.

READ ALSO: Spain considers banning tourist lets in residential buildings

The council will also vote on the suspension of licences for commercial ground-floor buildings to be turned into tourist accommodation.

The regional Generalitat Government of Valencia has approved a new decree allowing this to happen, but according to Ripoll “it is a big mistake and attacks local commerce”.

Despite all the recent tourism protests in Spain, more and more tourist apartments keep on popping up.

READ ALSO: Who owns all the Airbnb-style lets in Spain?

In nearby Calpe, the City Council have received 985 applications for tourist housing licences during the first eight months of the year.

This figure already exceeds the total for 2023, which was 932.

In 2017, only 441 were requested and since then, there has been exponential growth, except in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. Cape authorities are also trying to find a solution.

OPINION: Spaniards should blame landlords, not tourists

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