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    <title><![CDATA[Ara in English - holiday rental]]></title>
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    <description><![CDATA[Ara in English - holiday rental]]></description>
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    <ttl>10</ttl>
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      <title><![CDATA[Less talking and more doing (3): tourism]]></title>
      <link><![CDATA[https://en.ara.cat/opinion/less-talking-and-more-doing-3-tourism_129_5855857.html]]></link>
      <description><![CDATA[<p><img src="https://static1.ara.cat/clip/03721b0a-a3a7-4f30-8b51-b37040ad64d9_16-9-aspect-ratio_default_0.jpg" /></p><p>Picking up the thread interrupted by the news from <a href="https://en.ara.cat/opinion/ceuta-free-port_129_5841629.html">Ceuta</a>, I continue with my proposal for practicable solutions to the main problems of Catalonia.Tourism accounts for more than 12% of our GDP. Now it is time to move from volume to value. Tourism cannot grow any further—we are already under strain—but we must redirect it by moving from quantity to quality, because it is a source of wealth that is difficult to replace in the short term.We have two types of tourism: vacation and urban. The former is seasonal, is linked to low-value services—sun and beach—and has little gross value added. The latter, on the other hand, is linked to business, congresses, conventions, culture, gastronomy, etc. They are two different activities, with diverse social and economic impacts, which require specific treatments. We want, and must achieve, more quality and less volume; more income and fewer people. This is the paradigm that must be explained and that implies social problems that the citizenry needs to understand. The measures that are taken may be unpopular because they are uncomfortable and may affect the income of those who live from it.The conclusion is simple: we want urban tourism —which generates benefits in various economic sectors, such as science, industry, or business— and we want to limit vacation tourism —the excesses of which can lead to environmental degradation, to the erosion of the physical heritage that makes Catalonia attractive, and to a corrosion of social coexistence due to the rejection that the activity generates in part of the population. This duality leads to the need to limit the rental of rooms for tourist use, which exacerbates the housing shortage. Its prohibition has been announced starting in 2028, as well as the need to control daily visitors, who—coming from the coast near Barcelona—account for about 7 million more tourists, who contribute little value but generate significant congestion. Furthermore, Barcelona does not have the same problem as large metropolises like London or Paris. Although the scale of the problem may be the same, the size of the city is not; therefore, the effect, in Barcelona, is N times greater and affects the entire city, and not just the monumental area, as is the case in Paris and London.What is not wanted requires effective containment measures to avoid it. For example, the number of tourist buses arriving in Barcelona could be limited. Society knows the tourist reality; the citizenry will not oppose measures that seek to contain holiday tourism. Its capacity must be limited. We have 150,000 beds in Barcelona. Why are we increasing the supply? Why do we limit the number of hotels in Barcelona but not in the metropolitan area? Why have we allowed, and are now correcting, the renting of rooms? It makes no sense, but it is allowed. We have created the problem for ourselves and now we want to solve it. That is fine, but there have been inconsistencies in these policies.</p>]]></description>
      <dc:creator><![CDATA[Joaquim Coello]]></dc:creator>
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      <pubDate><![CDATA[Sun, 20 Sep 2026 19:02:43 +0000]]></pubDate>
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      <media:title><![CDATA[A group of tourists on Passeig de Gràcia.]]></media:title>
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