Alberto Ibáñez, a Compromís MP sitting with the left-wing Sumar coalition parliamentary group in the Spanish Congress, has emphasised his commitment to imposing further restrictions on tourism in order to reduce it, as in his view it is already ‘impossible to live’ in cities such as Alicante or Valencia.
Ibáñez recently submitted a request to Congress to create a subcommittee within the Industry and Tourism Committee to analyse the impact of tourism on people’s quality of life. In an interview with Europa Press, Ibáñez commented that the aim of this subcommittee is to capture the “discontent” felt in the country’s tourist cities, as in many coastal towns “residents are being driven out so that neighbourhoods can become sets for tourists”.
“You close a bakery to open a locker shop or a bike hire shop, with all the harm this causes the city,” lamented Ibáñez, who says he is in favour of “tourism degrowth” given this situation. “We say this without any hesitation,” he added. The deputy spokesperson for the plurinational parties in Congress criticised the fact that more cruise ships and passengers arrive in Valencia than the city has inhabitants, which is why he believes this activity must be restricted, as in his view it greatly affects the quality of the city and “contributes nothing” economically.
‘These are people who get off and don’t know if they’re in Valencia, Seville or Barcelona; they buy the same pin wherever they are and contribute no more than five euros for a beer,’ explained Ibáñez, who immediately went on to assert that the local resident also pays those five euros.
The clear example where, according to the MP, tourism needs to be reduced is Benidorm: ‘It boggles my mind; we don’t need any more tourists, we can’t accommodate any more tourists. And we can keep denying this until the day comes when we walk through a neighbourhood where there are no residents left.’
Regarding the concern that a message advocating for a reduction in tourism might generate in cities where the sector carries significant weight, Ibáñez argued that cities like Valencia no longer live off tourism, but rather that tourism lives off the city and is “devouring” it. However, Ibáñez added that this commitment to degrowth cannot be achieved without implementing an industrial restructuring plan that generates employment and economic activity in the cities.