Portugal Puts an End to Airbnb Purchases

In a nod to its floundering housing market, Portugal has passed a series of laws that limit the number of Airbnbs in the European country, according to a report in Gizmodo.

An influx of foreigners purchasing expensive homes to turn into Airbnb properties drove up the housing market and priced out the local population. In fact, short-term rentals account for more than 60 percent of listed properties in Lisbon’s Santa Maria Major parish. These new laws are aimed at curbing the practice.

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“The great appeal of our cities is not to turn [us] into some sort of Disneyland,” Prime Minister Antonio Costa, said at a press conference on Thursday. “There is no city that can remain authentic if it isn’t able to maintain its residents.”

In addition, Portugal will no longer hand out what is known as "Golden Visas." A Golden Visa is one in which the process is streamlined and with fewer questions for those who are looking to establish residency with the promise of future investment in that country.

These new rules, however, may come with some unintended consequences.

The country’s national airline, TAP Airlines, recently revised its popular plan allowing guests to stay over in Lisbon for discounted fares and also get discounts at nearby hotels, extending their European vacations. Less housing means fewer choices for tourists.

Portugal desperately needs tourism but also must be concerned with its own economic growth and the rising cost of housing in the country, which makes these new laws a double-edged sword. Portugal needs to curb tourism investment just enough to get the country’s wildly skyrocketing housing market under control but not enough to discourage visitors from coming to the country.

To that end, Portugal has a number of tourism initiatives in the works in order to continue to boost tourism in the country.