The Association of Tourist Housing and Apartment Professionals of Andalusia (AVVAPro), and the sector it represents, agrees with the decree of the Andalusian Government to regulate tourist accommodation. This is what its president has stated, Carlos Perez-Lanzac, this morning at the event held in Seville to present the decree accompanying the Board and other relevant actors for tourism in our community. There is no perfect decree but the assessment is positive.
“Right now the 73% of the tourist accommodation registered in our community is concentrated in towns and cities on the Andalusian coasts and the 75% It is not in the provincial capitals. Also, the 40% of the total is in municipalities of less than 50.000 inhabitants where even outside of the high season with the temporary closure of hotel establishments, tourists would not be able to stay if not thanks to our type of accommodation. This Ministry has been able to understand the weight of residential tourism for Andalusia and that tourism cannot be played with. We cannot treat an entire sector due to the tensions that occur in specific neighborhoods in provincial capitals.. This is the reality of our territory”.
Pérez-Lanzac remembers that of the 110.000 tourist homes registered in Andalusia only 70.000 are active, therefore there is more than one 36% that appear in statistics but are not actually available, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE). “Of the big changes proposed by the decree, The professionalization of the sector is one of those that convinces us the most and which we have opted for during the work table in which we have participated very actively all this time together with the administration.. It is a figure that has existed for more than 50 years but it was not regulated. It is a historic request from the sector that has finally been fulfilled. Also, provides more guarantees to tourists, “which has increasingly greater demands and helps to improve the sector by implementing new quality criteria and greater professionalization”.
The quality criteria included in the decree and the period of one year to adapt are acceptable in the opinion of AVVAPro. These are criteria that the market itself is already demanding and that if we do not implement them, we would lose our Andalusian leadership.. The noise detector, For example, It is something that has been left out of this decree and in which AVVAPro firmly believes., which has already promoted and allowed its installation on its own initiative in 2.000 tourist accommodations in Malaga capital and is currently working on an agreement with the Seville City Council for its implementation in the Andalusian capital. “It is something that we see as fundamental and we are going to continue fighting to have it incorporated later.”. The sector remains one hundred percent committed to the habitability of cities and attracting quality tourists.. We are against any bad actor who does not respect neighbors and has a negative impact. We are the first to suffer and the most interested in coexistence with neighbors being fully satisfactory.. And for this we would like to have all the tools at our disposal to avoid it., like noise detectors”.
On the fact that town councils can regulate their territory on the issue of tourist accommodation with the new tools provided by the decree of the Junta de Andalucía, Pérez-Lanzac considers that the Ministry led by Arturo Bernal has taken into account the important weight of residential tourism in Andalusia, since the situation of the historic center of capitals such as Seville or Malaga and that of other municipalities such as Chiclana is not the same., Torrox o Cabo de Gata, for example.
“This does not mean that city councils can act at will., It's not a blank check, They will have to justify the decisions, measure and reason which areas need more restrictive measures and which do not, because in the vast majority no problems are being generated and they have a very great dependence on our sector. If a norm of any consistory is proportional, justified and complies with a good of general interest, we will completely agree with its application. It's more, “We will be the first to work together with the administration as many times as we are required.”.
Finally, The president of AVVAPro assures that if the decree that is finally published in the BOJA, no last minute surprises, It is in line with the conversations held all this time and the work done with the administration, what was intended before starting this path will be fulfilled..
“We value very positively how the Ministry has understood residential tourism. It is an ambitious regulatory framework because Andalusia has a lot at stake, A harmful decree against the backbone of the Andalusian economy, such as tourism, could not be allowed.. Andalusia, compared to territories and regulations such as those of the Balearic Islands and Catalonia, It is now one of the few places where there are legal guarantees and where the value of the sector is understood.. The map of tourist accommodation in our community is very clear, the 60% They are tourist homes, apartments and rural accommodation”.
In the 11 first months of 2023 The number of tourists visiting Spain increased by 18,2% and surpassed 79,8 millions, according to the INE. The impact of housing for tourist use in Spain is 9.687 millions of euros (Data of 2022 according to the INE) and Andalusia is the largest national contribution with a 20,59%. In 2022, 4.056.936 of tourists chose this accommodation option in Andalusia, which generated a positive impact on our community of more than 4.000 millions of euros (4.052.286.679 euros), data always according to the INE.
The positive impact of tourist apartments and homes in Andalusia
Last year, the apartment and tourist housing sector accommodated a total of 4.458.425 tourists who generated 4.250 million euros of impact in Andalusia according to the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and is a fundamental driving pillar of tourism and the economy of the region. In fact, the 60 percent of all accommodation places in the autonomous community are apartments and tourist homes and rural houses, who create more than 20.000 direct jobs, 12.500 indirect and 9.000 self-employment.
The tourist housing market usually produces satisfied and loyal clients., with a large volume of demand and a very favorable impact on job creation, entrepreneurship, innovation and opportunities in the closest environment, It is proven that guests of tourist accommodation have a positive impact on local commerce such as restaurants., car rental and other services, given that 6 decade 10 euros (the 60 percent) What visitors spend is on purchases, local trade products and services. The average total travel expense per tourist housing reservation is 2.967 euros.
About AVVAPro
AVVAPro is an organization made up of companies, professionals and owners dedicated to the management of tourist homes and apartments in Andalusia, that provides competitiveness and quality guarantees to this accommodation segment, for the benefit of its users and related community.
The association holds the representation, through its members, from 12.000 tourist homes and apartments and close to 57.000 Accommodation places distributed throughout Andalusia. Also, AVVAPro defends and promotes the general and specific interests of tourist accommodation in the region., forming part of organizations such as the Spanish Federation of Housing Associations and Tourist Apartments (FEVITUR), the Confederation of Businessmen of Andalusia (CEA), the Costa del Sol Tourism Forum, the Plan8 of Seville and the Board of Tourism and Commerce of the City Council of Cádiz.
AVVAPro promotes the positive contribution of tourist homes and apartments to the economy in aspects such as the deconcentration of tourism in saturated areas, deseasonalization and visitor loyalty, the promotion of family tourism, residential and in areas without housing, increasing accessibility and comfort for users, the efficient use of the real estate stock and second homes, and the promotion of the rehabilitation of buildings in historic centers.