PaP Livorno: “The administration claims Airbnb, housing protection is needed instead” – Livornopress

Politics

March 28, 2024

Livorno 28 March 2024 – PaP Livorno: “The administration claims Airbnb, housing protection is needed instead”

“The current Democratic Party-led administration rejoices, in the person of Mayor Luca Salvetti, for the increased interest of the tourist market in Livorno.

The data presented today on the Tyrrhenian Sea specifically report that tourist presences have increased by approximately 40% compared to 2019. In particular, the Mayor reports the appearance of our city among the trend searches in our country on the famous short-term rental platform called AirBnB, together with cities such as Riccione, Sanremo and Florence.

However, Salvetti’s Florentine colleague, Mayor Nardella, has stood out in recent months for being the first mayor in Italy to attempt to stem tourism by approving a resolution (currently suspended due to appeals to the TAR) which blocks the new licenses for short-term rentals.
The Florentine centre-right immediately began its complaint, labeling the measure as an attack on private property which, apparently, applies only to real estate owners but not to the population who inhabits a city every day and who is the victim of speculation on rents in a period of galloping inflation.

The Livorno PD, evidently unable to contact its Florentine colleagues, forgets in its celebrations that:

– Most tourists arrive via cruises, so the increase in tourist tax revenue is actually small compared to its potential. Furthermore, Livorno is only used as a low-cost dormitory, resulting in a low economic contribution to our territory;

– The housing problem is one of the most pressing for citizens and rejoicing over the phenomenon of short-term rentals means rejoicing over the difficulties of the people of Livorno, who in the near future could find themselves with significant increases in rent if adequate regulation is not identified ( topic avoided by the PD in the past five years);

– Overtourism causes a rise in prices in supermarkets, restaurants and bars, which adapt to the spending of a rich tourist (perhaps American or German) and forces those who live in the city every day to leave. If this phenomenon is to affect Livorno, protections must be identified for those who live and animate the city;

– Tourism is a type of fluctuating economy, and making it the center of Livorno’s activities (as the organizational policy of the PD council shows) would mean depending entirely on the income of the summer season, without taking into account the hopefully remote case of a new pandemic.

Furthermore, the statements of councilor Garufo who distinguishes between “mass” and “experiential” tourism are quite ridiculous, as if the Estathè on the seafront were something unique compared to Roger Waters’ concert at the Lucca Summer Festival.

There have certainly been efforts by the administration, but they are nothing innovative and not even sufficient: rather, Livorno has joined an international trend (as they themselves recognise) which has mixed Covid and inflation, favoring domestic and low-cost travel – a trend that can easily change tomorrow. The insufficiency of the work done stands out if we compare the summer nightlife with the winter offer: those who remain in Livorno, especially if young, find themselves faced with a depressing monotony. How do we plan to keep our most sublime minds if we die in winter? How do we plan to make our streets safe if we desert them? The demographic decline only confirms this, given that from 2010 to today we have lost eight thousand inhabitants.

It is necessary to carefully evaluate the tourism phenomenon with data in hand, acting in the interests of citizens and those who want to stay in Livorno, proposing an urban economy that is in accordance with our territorial specificities, respecting nature and the health of its inhabitants. inhabitants. In this context, tourism can be a support, but it cannot replace our vocations, which are the only ones that allow us to live in this wonderful city.”

Power to the People of Livorno