There are growing fears that Seville will become a ghost town due to the proliferation of tourist apartments that are ‘displacing local residents’.
This week, it was revealed that an iconic area of the city is empty of residents.
Plaza Morviedro was the lively and beating heart of Seville in the 16th and 17th centuries, filled with prostitutes, sailors, and adventurers from the New World.
However, it is now completely occupied by the four-star Vincci Morviedro Hotel and its adjoining Morviedro Suites apartments, and is literally unoccupied.
Read more: Anti-tourism protests planned in Mallorca
The company’s hotels and apartments occupy an area of more than 4,500 square meters and include a restaurant, whose terrace extends onto the square.
The only building that was not converted into short-term accommodation was the chapel of Mayor Dolor, which houses the Brotherhood of Jesús Despojado, ABC reports.
This means that the area near Arenal is empty when tourists are not visiting.
The news sparked outrage online among local residents, who branded the situation a “silent occupation.”
One person was furious with X and said: “All the locals have been kicked out!”
Another said: “It’s almost a crime to deprive people of a square as iconic as Morviedro.”
At the end of the 2010s, approximately 60% of Morviedro’s buildings were abandoned.
However, one local resident told X: “That square was lined with ruined buildings, always forgotten and lifeless… But the solution wasn’t to turn it into a hotel. What a mess.”
However, some defended the tourism industry, saying it helped improve the local landscape.
One person said, “That square was disgusting… Now it’s beautiful. It’s a shame that only hotel guests can enjoy it, but it’s even more beautiful now.”
According to a study by the University of Malaga, around 24% of apartments in the central Arenal district have been converted into tourist apartments.
The study was commissioned by the junta in 2019, meaning the current figure could be even higher.
It comes as “anti-tourism” protests continue to be planned across Spain after a “historic” 60,000-strong demonstration in the Canary Islands last month.
Locals say tourist apartments are sucking up all the supply, driving up rents and purchase prices and forcing people to leave city centres.
A “massive” protest is planned in Malaga for June, as residents’ anger grows over Airbnb and Booking.com apartments.
