Locals in Sevilla have blasted a surge in Airbnb-style flats for ruining their neighbourhood’s sense of community.
Residents in Triana – one of the city’s most iconic barrios – say they are fed-up with constant arrival of tourists and the expulsion of long-term locals.
Over the years, streets like Calle Alfareria have become dominated by tourist apartments, driving many long-term residents away – with only a small number of locals staying put.
Eduardo, a waiter at Antigua Casa Diego, told Diario de Sevilla that ‘different people come and go every three days.’
Another local woman added: ‘We have a hard time because the customs aren’t the same. And worse when the people change every week… You never know who’s going to arrive.’
One man pointed at blocks of flats he said are almost entirely given over to tourist rentals.
He said he struggles with ‘the parties, the beer drinking and especially the stag dos.’, adding that in summer it is the worst because ‘the noise is constant.’
A young woman added: ‘It’s true there isn’t trouble all the time, but when it happens it’s intense and disturbing.
‘There used to be familiar faces, the everyday ‘good mornings’ between neighbours. That’s gone.
‘Those of us who are left have had to accept it.’
According to city records, Triana currently has around 121 illegal tourist flats.
The area is officially designated ‘saturated’ due to the sheer volume of short-term rentals – a label that locals say feels increasingly visible in their day-to-day lives.
Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.
This argument does seem to be a bit one-sided….the locals who are left perhaps need to remember that their beloved old local neighbours are the ones who sold up in the first place, happily selling to rental landlords. Rose-tinted glasses spring to mind.