A representative for Visit Belfast has said the city should not “turn into a Barcelona,” where people are protesting about the level of Air BnBs taking over homes during a housing crisis.
The comments were made before elected representatives at a Belfast Council committee meeting, where elected members agreed an annual spend of over £2million for Visit Belfast.
Visit Belfast was established by the council as the city’s official tourism centre and describes it as “the principal destination marketing and visitor servicing organisation for the city of Belfast.” The public/private partnership is a membership organisation with more than 460 partner businesses across the wider hospitality industry.
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At the March meeting of the council’s City Growth and Regeneration committee, councillors approved and agreed a funding allocation of £2,076,356 for 2025-26, “subject to the development of a funding agreement, priority areas of activity and agreed targets.”
During its annual presentation at City Hall, representatives from Visit Belfast took questions from elected representatives, with most of the parties voicing concerns about the spread of Air BnBs across the city, which many see as damaging communities by introducing short-term lets that are highly lucrative for landlords but are not not welcomed by neighbouring residents.
Last month the DUP in Belfast Council made a call for new legislation to regulate short-term lets, after it was revealed that an unauthorised Airbnb in East Belfast was set to make a profit of £19,000 in eight weeks.
And at this month’s City Hall meeting, DUP Councillor for Botanic Tracy Kelly said to Visit Belfast reps: “I would like to talk about the social impact (of tourism). (In your survey) 92 percent of residents feel that tourism is beneficial.
“I am going to talk for the eight percent - where I represent, there are three inner city communities right on the cusp of the city centre. A lot of those communities now are seeing family homes being turned into Air BnBs.
“It is really concerning to residents, because obviously there is a housing crisis at the moment.”
She added: “There was one AirBnB in East Belfast, that cost £19,000 to rent for the summer. If you rented that out for the year, you would probably get £12,000 - compared to £19,000 for two months. Obviously that is a very attractive opportunity for people.”
Gerry Lennon, Chief Executive of Visit Belfast said: ”I am aware of the problem, but not really. What I have to do is have a conversation about the scale of that - I have heard of anecdotal issues like that.
“We don’t feel that is a big issue across the city, but that does not mean it is not real. It is something I suspect, if we have an accommodation shortage, we will have to have a conversation about, and sort out what regulation or otherwise we can do for Air BnBs.”
Marie-Thérése McGivern, Chair of Visit Belfast, told the committee: ”I believe it is a really important issue. What we don’t want in Belfast, is to get into a situation like Palma or Barcelona, where people are protesting about the level of Air BnBs because they literally can’t get places to live, as they are being rented out.
“We are seeing aggressive action by some cities, and the council will have a role to play in due course, but I think we do have to keep our eye on iy. It isn’t something VB would be encouraging, what we want is tourism jobs, and there aren't a lot of jobs in Air BnB. There’s profit for the people that own the Air BnB, but what we are trying to promote are jobs.
“But I agree, this is a really important issue, and we are only in the foothills. We need to keep an eye on this, and minimise that impact on people.”
Sinn Féin Councillor for Castle Conor Maskey said: “I take the area I grew up in as an example. Last year, the Newington area, which is very small, saw a real increase in planning and licensing applications for Air BnBs. Coupled with that, we are getting increased calls from constituents about Air BnBs being misused for antisocial behaviour.
“I am glad you are aware of what is going on in Spain. We are getting to a point in Belfast where the housing stress and the issue of antisocial behaviour might collide with Air Bnbs.
“So if we are going to be serious about neighbourhood tourism, Visit Belfast, Tourism NI, our Planning and Licensing and the police need to come together and get ahead of the curve of what is an emerging problem coming down the line. There are landlords looking for opportunities for profit, and they are doing it the wrong way.”
He proposed that Visit Belfast “convene” with the council and other partners to further discuss the matter.
Green Councillor Brian Smyth: “What about the Stormont Executive, in terms of taking on Air BnBs? It is all well and good hearing about it here, but the council only has so much power. The Executive is going to have to step up here and look at the rise of AIr BnBs and lack of housing stock.
“We need to look at models such as the Berlin and Vienna models in terms of how we protect housing, keep communities together and at the same time have a balance with tourism. At the minute, it is going the other way. Ultimately the power rests with MLAs.”
SDLP Councillor Séamas de Faoite: “My colleague Councillor Gary McKeown brought a motion in reaction to this in 2021, about trying to get both the council and the Stormont departments to work together on tighter regulations in relation to Air BnBs. It might be worth having some degree of an update on that.”
He said: “When you squeeze out community, it makes it much harder for a space to feel lived in, appreciated and secure.”
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