The end of rural tourism: chronicle of a death announced
There was a time when rural tourism was a real luxury for the soul. Imagine: a stone house in a lost corner of the world, a homemade breakfast with grandma’s jam, and a silence broken only by the singing of the birds. It was almost a revolutionary act: disconnecting, breathing fresh air and feeling part of a landscape that seemed taken from a fairy tale.
Today, the landscape has changed. And we’re not talking about a small plot twist, no: it’s as if rural tourism had mutated into a kind of Frankenstein industry that threatens to devour the very towns that welcomed it. But let’s go for parts, because there’s a lot of fabric to cut. 😤
1. The problem of numbers: more houses than inhabitants
Do you know how many tourist accommodations there are in Vilademuls? Toma asiento: 30 rural houses and 32 HUTs (Housing for Tourist Use) . For a small town, it is as if each house had its own business. And in Camprodon, things do not improve: 11 rural houses and, attention, ¡ 183 HUTs ! But what is this? A competition of who can put more beds per square meter?
And of course, it’s not just the quantity. It is that the HUTs do not play by the same rules as us, those who manage real rural houses. While we deal with:
- Self-employed, Social Security and impossible quotas.
- Quarterly VAT returns.
- Corporate tax, annual accounts and audits.
- Inspections and quality controls.
HUTs simply declare what they earn as “extra income” in their income . No freelancers, no VAT, no nothing. It’s as if they were ghost businesses!
2. The impact on the towns: welcome to rural chaos
Now imagine that you live in a town of 300 inhabitants. Until a few years ago, the worst thing that could happen was that a chicken sneaked into your garden. But now, every weekend, that town turns into a kind of traveling fair with 1,000 people who come, occupy, get dirty and then leave.
The result:
- Overflowing containers . The trash generated by these accommodations is brutal, but the municipal services are not designed to support that volume. And who pays the duck? The neighbors, of course.
- Noises at all hours . Because what comes from the city wants to party: loud music, nightly barbecues and laughter that can be heard throughout the region. Rural peace, in a deep coma.
- Collapse of services . Water, electricity, waste collection… Everything falls short before this avalanche of tourists. And the worst: these “weekend visitors” contribute nothing to the municipality. No taxes, no income for local businesses. Only problems.
3. Fiscal inequality: David versus Goliath
This is where the big elephant in the room comes in: booking portals such as Booking, Airbnb, Expedia and others. These platforms have turned tourism into a globalized market where anything goes. But do you know where they are registered? In tax havens . They don’t pay taxes, but we, the little entrepreneurs, continue to bleed for every euro we earn.
On top of that, we have to charge the tourist the famous tourist tax . One euro per night and per person which, it is supposed, should be returned to the town. But where does that money end up? Spoiler: not in the village . It is as if they made us collect a revolutionary tax that does not benefit anyone, except the bureaucratic machinery.
4. The trap of HUTs: a business without controls
HUTs are like that neighbor who makes bottles at home and never collects anything. They operate under a kind of “free will”, because:
- They are not registered as companies . They only declare the fair as “extra income”.
- They do not have quality inspections . Heating? Fire extinguishers? Security? That’s okay…
- They do not contribute to the municipality . Not in taxes, not in investments. But they use public services as if they were their own.
If that wasn’t enough, many HUTs are illegal . In Girona, for example, there are dozens (if not hundreds) of accommodations that are not even registered. And who controls this? Exactly: nobody.
5. Long-term consequences: an unsustainable model
If we continue like this, this has no future. Rural tourism as we know it is in danger of extinction. Why? Because the current model is not sustainable :
- The towns become saturated, the neighbors get fed up and the rural charm disappears.
- Services collapse and natural resources degrade.
- Legal accommodation cannot compete with illegal or “pirates”.
In the end, the only ones who win are the big platforms and the owners who play the fiscal hideout. And that is not rural tourism. That is covert exploitation .
6. And now what?
We cannot stand idly by. Here are some ideas to save what is left of rural tourism:
- Serious and strict regulation . If it’s a business, tax as such. HUTs, rural houses, whatever: same rules for all.
- Limitation of places . A small town cannot be overcrowded. You have to set limits.
- Investments in the towns . The taxes generated by tourism should stay in the municipality, not be lost in the bureaucracy.
- Control of portals . The platforms must pay taxes like any company that operates in our country.
- Promotion of responsible tourism . Quality over quantity. Tourism that respects the environment and adds value, no noise and litter.
Rural tourism still has hope, but only if we act now. Because if not, what is today a refuge for the soul will become a nightmare scenario. And nobody wants that.
In short: if we don’t change course, rural tourism, as we know it, will end up being a memory. The solution? Regulation, respect and, above all, balance. Because towns are meant to be lived in… not to be blown up. 🌿 💔
From MasTorrencito we wish you a good day and may your dogs accompany you!!!!
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Si quieres, puede ver nuestros bonos para fines de semana, bonos jubilados , a un precio increíble.
