Tenants in Ireland could be paying €250 a year more in rent by 2031 because of air tourism, and that would come on top of any other increase. The estimate comes from a new analysis by Transport & Environment (T&E), which describes itself as Europe’s leading advocacy group for clean transport and energy. The New Economics Foundation carried out the study.
Of all the countries examined, Ireland is expected to see the biggest rise. “Ireland is expected to see the largest rise, facing a rent increase of €250 per year,” the study found. It added that higher rents will “primarily affect lower-income households.”
The warning lands while the Dáil is still working through legislation to remove the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.
Anti-tourism protests, more flights
T&E notes that protests against tourism have spread through some popular destinations. Arrivals by air keep climbing regardless. The group points to a housing crisis it calls “unaffordable” in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, and says rents are spiralling in tourist hotspots in Spain and Greece.
The researchers counted only formal accommodation such as hotels, because data on other types of tourist lodging is limited. They cautioned that “if the rise in nights spent in informal accommodation, such as Airbnb, were considered, the growth rates would likely be higher still.”
Aviation also carries an environmental bill. The report estimates the sector produces 52% of the global tourism industry’s direct emissions and much of its emissions growth. In Europe, emissions from international tourist arrivals by air are projected to rise over 60% between 2016 and 2030.
Airports still expanding
Governments are building anyway, T&E says. Spain’s government committed €12.9bn last year to boost air travel. Athens is rolling out a €1.3bn expansion that would raise annual passenger capacity by 25%, and terminal work is under way in Lisbon.
Denise Auclair, head of T&E’s Travel Smart Campaign, said the study ties the two things together. “This study proves we cannot separate the anti-tourism protests on the ground from the surge of flights arriving overhead,” she said. “Trying to manage tourism overcrowding while simultaneously expanding airports in Dublin, Barcelona, or Lisbon is a losing battle.”
She wants governments to order an “immediate stop” to airport expansions and rethink their plans for tourism and transport connectivity if they are serious about affordable housing and climate targets.
T&E is also asking for a new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy that aims to cut international air arrivals in saturated regions and looks more widely at what air tourism does to local communities. Most economic impact assessments in aviation, the group says, ignore effects on property and rent prices, even where housing sits at the top of the political agenda. Leaving out how much air traffic growth drives overtourism, according to the study, will produce a narrow and inefficient government response.
