Tourist

Italy has found a disturbing way to end the tourist of its beaches: privatize them

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Summer on national beaches as a national concept we would say that it is in Danger of extinction In southern Europe. And not for the desire, but for the cost. If you start noticing a Run Run Among your acquaintances where talking about vacation on the coast seems little less than an urban legend for the exorbitant price, Italy has a message for navigators: they no longer give to hammocks and umbrellas. If touring homeland He was getting so expensive that he came out More profitable the Caribbeannow we have record. A beach banquet. Counted in a report The New York Times that, on the beaches of Apulia, especially in Bari, the time of lunch was always a Collective show Where entire families display tables, tablecloths and trays full of lasagers, rice with mussels, seafood pastes, fried sausages or raw octopus, keeping alive a custom that goes back to the rise of mass tourism in the postwar period. This practice, popularly known as Fagottari (Those who load with food packages), have their roots in the Italian working culture, when the beach holidays were the Unique accessible luxury and the shared banquet represented a community celebration. A tradition in crisis. Going to the beach in Italy has been a deeply rooted cultural ritual for decades, one marked by the custom of rent sun loungers, umbrellas and cabins in the so -called as stabilimenti Balnari They control much of the coast. However, this summer the influx has fallen between 15% and 25% compared to the previous year in private concessions, especially on working days, while on weekends the beaches continue to fill. The difference is also in consumption: those who come spend less on bars and restaurants, a reflection of generalized economic discomfort. The weight of inflation and prices. The most repeated explanation by business associations is the Loss of purchasing power in a context of inflation and increased cost of life. But this assistance crisis is also associated with the SUSTAINED UP of prices on private beaches, which have increased by 17% in four years. For example, the most extreme: rent two sun louges and an umbrella costs no less than 30 euros on the beaches of Lazio and up to 90 euros in fashion places like Gallipoli, in Puglia. The image of private beaches with rows of empty hammocks has become a symbol of disenchantment. The confrontation. There are more. Given that The Times underlined that in recent years, the rise of foreign tourism and the proliferation of the Stabilimenti Balnari They have been restricting the public space, making access and, in some cases, imposing rules that prohibit introducing food. Club owners allege the need to preserve the “decoration” and income of their bars, but neighbors denounce an attack on A basic rightbecause the law recognizes that Beaches are public And it cannot be forbidden to wear food. The conflict has reached political and legal dyes, with headlines that describe an authentic “Picnic Picnic War”, in which lawyers, consumer associations and even politicians They have intervened. The political and cultural debate. The Guardian told that the phenomenon has opened a deeper debate about the concentration of private management on the Italian coasts, which leaves little space to public beaches. Figures known as actor Alessandro Gassmann They have pointed out That the combination of “exaggerated” prices and economic difficulties is pushing the Italians towards the free beaches. Sector defenders claim that prices have not grown as much as they say and that They include services security and lifeguards, but consumer associations denounce that concessions have become A “black hole” For families finance. For the locals, the fact of having to hide or defend their fasteners represents a symbol of alienation and loss of identity. “Apulia is no longer ours”, Some regretremembering how free beaches have been absorbed by luxury resorts today. Citizen rebellion. Outrage has materialized In protests From Sicily to Liguria. In Lavinio, near Anzio, politician Matteo Hallissey (+Europe) was pushed when planting an umbrella to denounce illegal posters of “private beach”. In Mondello (Sicily), demonstrations made the authorities order to remove turniquetes that prevented access to sand. In Metaponto (Basilicata), the Police intervened to confiscate hundreds of sun loungers and umbrellas illegally. In Naples, activists protested against fenced sections In the spy of the monache, while in Marina di Pietrasanta (Toscana) They nailed umbrellas in the sand as a symbolic act of coastal reappropriation. These actions have visible a generalized discomfort: the feeling that the sea, collective heritage, has been usurped for private interests with the complicity of politicians fearful to face a powerful lobby. The lobby strength. The Stabilimenti sector constitutes a Economic framework Family and hereditary in many coastal regions, where businesses are transmitted from parents to children and generate fortunes linked to summer tourism. In locations such as Bacoli, near Naples, summer income can exceed 100,000 daily visitors. The power of this lobby has made successive governments, for two decades, have avoided Impose real limits to the privatization of the beaches. Faced with this inertia, some mayors, such as Josi Della Ragione in Bacoli, have promoted shock measures: decree that at least 50% From the coast it is freely accessible, knock down illegal constructions and remove equipment that blocks the passage. His determination has faced mafia interests and death threats, but symbolizes institutional resistance to the private appropriation of the sea. Mountain displacement. Thus, while private beaches lose customers, tourism is being redirected Towards the mountainwith special intensity In Los Dolomitaswhere some municipalities already alert risk of massification. The trend does not respond only to the economic factor: more and more Italians seek refuge in fresh altitudes to escape stifling summers, intensified by the climatic crisis. This tourist transfer symbolizes a cultural transformation into Italian summer vacations, in which The traditional model Private beach staggers in front of new social, economic and environmental realities. Perhaps for this reason, those shirts are, in words of manythe last thing left in some more and more privatized and … Read more

Cabo de Gata promised them happy with the tourist pull of its beaches. Until the dunes became parkings

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He Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park It is an environmental jewel of the Mediterranean, but also an important claim for visitors who only in Julio saw how they accessed their regulated beaches and coves More than 15,000 vehicles. Combining these two facets is not always simple, as can be seen from The last complaint From Pacma, which warns that an important dunes zone has ended up “destroyed” and turned, at least in a simple parking. “It’s bleak,” he regrets animalist formation. What happened? Than the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park He is being a victim of his own popularity among visitors. This was denounced a few days ago the Pacma coordinator in Almería, Eduardo Milla, who has warned of the “serious destruction” of the dunar systems of the Para del Charcoa protected sand located between the beach of Cabo de Gata and that of the herb. To be more precise, Pacma complaint That the fence that protected the area is broken or dropped at several points due to the “lack of maintenance”, which allows the passage of people and even cars. “As a consequence, several Dunar cords have disappeared, transforming some of these areas into improvised parking lots.” Is it so serious? Animalist formation warns of the risks to the sand and that the achievements of the last and a half decade are cast. “What was protected for years has been suddenly unprotected,” Add mile. “Some dunes have become esplanadas to park. It is bleak how areas that took more than 15 years to recover have disappeared in a summer.” The Pacma coordinator in Almería goes even further and recalls that the Dunar Systems of the Arenal are “of the most important” of the Natural Park next to those of the amoladas beach, so it claims to the authorities that intervene “urgently” to “revert to the maximum” the damages. Is it the only complaint? Pacma’s warning is especially overwhelming for its content and has achieved A considerable echoespecially between The regional pressbut animalist formation is not the only one that has ruled on tourism in the protected area of Cabo de Gata-Níjar. In early August the Andalusia Board itself launched A statement To emphasize the importance of visitors acting “with responsibility” and “respect” in the park. “The conservation of this privileged environment is a collective task. The individual behavior of each visitor has a decisive weight. We make this call for consciousness and responsibility to ensure that the enjoyment of the park does not be detrimental to its future,” claims The organism director, Salvador Parra. And what do they propose? Among other issues, the Board remembers that it is forbidden to collect specimens of flora and fauna during visits (“They suppose a serious alteration of the ecosystem,” he emphasizes), throwing garbage or getting out of the marked paths. The Ministry too remember That certain activities, such as diving, kayak or fishing, must respect certain guidelines. On the mainland, free camping is not allowed or that motorhomas are at night outside the marked areas. What is the problem? The key slide the newspaper recently ABC in An analysis in which he points out the complicated balance to which Cabo de Gata is cornered: it is an environmental jewel, “one of the protected spaces of greater ecological relevance of the Western Mediterranean”, in the words of the Junta de Andalucía; But also an important tourist claim. Throughout last year the main facilities of public use of the park counted 38,400 people. According to The data That Europa Press handles, last month on the beaches and coves located west of the nucleus of San José, from Genoese to Cala Carbon, the entrance of more than 15,000 private vehicles was counted. That figure reveals a slight rebound (+3.4%) with respect to 2024, although it remains below the 2014 peaks. The daily average was thus in July in about 485 vehicles. Have more measures been taken? Yes. At the beginning of summer the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment He began to control The accesses to several beaches of Cabo Gata-Níjar precisely for the influx of car, a measure that will remain active until September 28. Canal Sur requires that those who want to access the beaches of Mónsul, Genoese or Cala Coal, among others, and park in one of their 399 places They must be done before with a six -euro ticket per vehicle. In The order In which he reports access restrictions, the Andalusian Board recalls that other years has been proven as “the agglomeration of people and vehicles” that are concentrated in the area during the summer deteriorate the coastal ecosystem. That without counting on the “serious problems of collapses in the access roads” that, the government warns, prevent both the minimum safety conditions “in case of emergency and the provision of basic services. Images | Stablemechanism (Flickr), Pacma and Wikipedia In Xataka | The north of Spain has been complaining about mass tourism for years. Asturias has discovered the bitter consequences of losing it

More and more places begin to charge to see their tourist monuments. The last: the Mills of Holland

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Yeah Turisteaspay. As the international flow of travelers recover (or even exceeds) early levels and great destinations such as Venice, Amsterdam either Florencethey face unbalanced tourism, an idea begins to spread through the sector: if you want to know large monuments, mountains or historical helmets, you will not arrive with a plane, you pay a hotel and go to the place in person. Once there you must buy a ‘ticket’. As in a museum. Venice has been A pioneer of that philosophy, which now Go with interest Holland. What happened? That if you travel to the Netherlands it is likely that in not much time you must pay to know one of its great icons: Zaanse Schansa kind of outdoor museum of Zaanstad, Em Netherlands northern, famous for its wind mills. For years tourists come in mass (there are buses that are responsible for transporting them) to visit their historical museums, walk along their paths, enjoy their peculiar architecture and especially get out selfies. How many people do you go? Yes. Zaanstad authorities They assure That Zaanse Schans is one of the “most popular day excursions” from the Netherlands, something to which his heritage helps and how close to Amsterdam. Only the Ephting park and Rijksmuseum. After the fall of tourists during the pandemic, the authorities estimate that in 2024 the Zaense Schans attracted some 2.6 million of visitors. And there are those who warns It will soon pass the three million. What do you want to do? What the Zaanstad authorities raise is to collect an entry to tourists who want to visit Zaense Schans. His plan announced in detail in spring, in A statement in which some keys slide, such as the rate that the City Council has in mind is € 17.5, a “realistic” sum in your opinion. The idea is to pay only visitors. The neighbors of Zaanstad and WORMERLAND and certain “specific groups” may continue accessing free. Charging for access requires more than approving a rate, so Zaanstad authorities are also considering closing certain roads and trails to the public. “The Zaense Schans will no longer be freely accessible as is now”, Confirm The City Council. The idea is that you begin to demand tickets in the area already in the 2026 tourist season, although AFP needed Recently, the authorities have opened the door to a certain delay. In his release Spring, the City Council talked about the measure was still in the “preliminary” phase. And all this … why? For the massification. The authorities They assure that Zaanse Schans has become “a national symbol of excessive tourism” and warn of their effects. “The heritage and quality of life of the neighbors are at risk of being affected by mass tourism,” warns the session before remembering that the massive flow of visitors “has important consequences for security and habitability” and interferes with the maintenance of its architecture. It is nothing new. The region already raised the same dilemma in 2020, but pandemic and falling tourism during the following years prevented them from going further. “However, since 2022 the bustle has returned to its usual level. In 2024 the Zaanse Schans attracted 2.6 million visitors. That also means that all the problems caused by excessive tourism have returned,” emphasize The City Council, which recalls that the Dutch Tourism Office provides that foreign tourism in the region will grow 37% over the next few years. And what was collected? AFP Slide that the new rate would have a double effect: it would reduce the volume of visitors and especially raise millions of euros that the authorities could use for the maintenance of historical buildings. In that same idea insists the Consistory, which emphasizes that the income generated by the inputs “are necessary” to pay for the preservation of its heritage, in addition to guaranteeing “the security and quality of life” in the area. “The Zaense Schans needs urgent interventions for the preservation of all its heritage, greater security and improvements in public spaces. Nothing is not an option. Without sufficient resources, it will be lost in the short term, between five and seven years,” argues. “The volume of tourists also influences heritage: the more it is used, the more management.” Not everyone sees it the same. In fact, in the town there are who warns that the new tax will damage tourism. Why is it important? Because, beyond what it may be for Zaanse Schans or future visitors who want to enjoy their wind mills, Zaanstad’s decision connects with a much greater trend: to collect tourists who want to enjoy iconic destinations. Venice already It demands an entry of access and similar measures have been adopted (or at least discussed) in Japan to Get to Fuji and Rome to approach the Fontana di Trevi. The theme is also on the table in New Zealand for visit Its beaches and mountains. Even in Italy, farmers have begun to install lathes in the field to demand tourists to Pay a ‘toll’ If you want to cross your fields. It is not necessary to leave the country to find similar measures. Beyond the tourist rate, which It continues to expand by several regions From the country, there has also been talk of the collection for visiting certain iconic destinations. In 2024 the president of the Cabildo de Tenerife He raised An ecotasa to enjoy natural spaces. Images | Kismihok (Flickr) and Karl Paul Baldacchino (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Cantabria promised them happy with their protected beaches. Until it became “the Magaluf del Norte”

It will be a bond of up to $ 15,000 per tourist

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Traveling to the United States is about to become an adventure more unattainable that never for millions of tourists around the world. The US government is finalizing a procedure that will make Traveling to the US is a bit more complicated And, above all, much more expensive: they will demand a bond of up to $ 15,000 per traveler to prevent you from being in the country more than declared. $ 15,000 in exchange for a visa. According to published Reutersthe United States Department of State has sent a circular to its consulates announcing that it will implement a 12-month pilot program for which it will require certain applicants for Visa B-1 (businesses) and B-2 (tourism) a deposit that could reach up to $ 15,000 as a requirement to get the tourist visa, and its return will depend on the person leave the country within the authorized period. According The published By Politico, the State Department has confirmed this measure that is in its final drafting phase and could immediately enter into force as of August 20, 2025. According to a state department spokesman, this measure “reinforces the Trump administration’s commitment to the application of US immigration laws and the protection of national security.” Affected countries. The measure automatically excludes citizens of nations from the Visa Exemption Program (among which is Spain), but will affect certain countries whose citizens have a high rate of permanence in the country after the expiration of their visas. The statement sent to consulates does not offer information on which countries will affect the new measure. According to data From the US Department and border protection of the United States, more than 500,000 people remained in the country longer than allowed by their visas in 2023, Colombia registered the largest number of people who exceed the duration of their stay in 2023, with 40,884, followed by Haiti (27,269), Venezuela (21.513), Brazil (20.811) and the Dominican Republic (20.259). It is very likely that these countries enter to be part of that list that has not yet been made public, but the US reserves the right to include or remove more countries from this list. “Countries will be identified according to the high permanence rates, the deficiencies in the selection and verification of the background, the concerns about the acquisition of citizenship due to investment without a residence requirement and foreign policy considerations,” government spokesman told politician. Discretionary bail. In the statement sent to the consulates it is specified that the amount of the bond may vary in a discretionary way between the 5,000, 10,000 and up to $ 15,000, depending on the “risk” that the consulate receives depending on the nationality and the migratory background of the applicant. In addition, to set the bond, the applicant’s economic capacity will be taken into account so that it is not so high as to cause economic damage. However, the statement establishes an average bond of $ 5,000 for children and $ 10,000 for adults in countries included in the list that want to visit the country as tourists. Expected impact on tourism and perspectives. The arrival of Donald Trump and the resurgence of anti -immigration measures has generated great tension in the tourism sector that It already registers falls up to 20%. The impact on international tourism can be considerable. According to Customs Department and border protection of the United States publishedby Newsweekonly Colombia, the country with one of the greatest permanence rates in the country, sent 945,000 visitors to the US in 2023. The implementation of this screening system will delve into a little more in The 12,500 million hole of dollars estimated in May. It is not the first time Trump tries. The measure that is about to launch the Trump administration is not new. His cabinet has limited himself to getting out of the drawer and expanding a proposal that was already considered in 2020, in the last months of his previous term. On that occasion the pilot program was designed to last six months, but Biden’s victory at the polls canceled it. In Xataka | A feeling is growing in Europe and Canada: boycotting US products and buying the “nationals” Image | Pexels (BORYS ZAITSEV)

We thought the tourist floors were the most profitable. Amancio Ortega has found something better: headquarters and shops

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The rental market He has shot In recent years and with them the profitability that their owners They get them. Keeping this in mind, have you ever wondered how much must pay Inditex, Primark, Amazon or Apple for the rent of some of its offices or stores? Amancio Ortega, like homemade main From these companies has that answer: almost 1 billion a year together. Choose buildings without borrowing. In addition to the founder of Inditex, Amancio Ortega is the creator of one of the greater real estate empires in Spain: Pontegadea. The basis of his fortune remains his participation of 59.29% in Inditex, which allows him to access Milmillonarios annual dividends which strategically reinveys premium buildings distributed throughout the world. All this without borrowing with third parties. However, instead of focusing your business on the sale of these properties to obtain surplus value, your goal is to make constant profitability through rentals. Since its buildings have been specifically selected by Its strategic location In the main capitals of the world, the big firms are tail To rent some of its premises. Millionaire rentals. Thanks to this strategy, Pontegadea registered in 2024 income linked to real estate of 977 million euros, According to data to those who have had access Digital economy. This figure represents a 20% increase with respect to the 657 million euros that Ortega’s real estate registered in its 2023 accounts. This increase means that, for the first time, Pontegadea has exceeded the joint revenues from rents of its main rivals in Spain: Merlin Properties and Colonial. Something that It already foresaw That could happen for some years. They always buy with tenants. Such and as he published Expansionin addition to making a strategic selection of its buildings, Pontegadea has as a guideline buy buildings already occupied by solvent tenants. This has been demonstrated in all its operations, such as the logistics center of Baldonnell Business Park of Dublin From which Amazon operates, the Amazon headquarters in Seattleor the Venlo distribution centerfrom which it serves as the operations center of the DSV parcel company, one of the largest in the world. Thus, the new properties that Pontegadea incorporates in its portfolio generates income from the first minute and ensures something very valuable for a landlord: a tenant that pays promptly. Inditex also pays for rent: A Pontegadea. It is paradoxical, but some of the dividends that Pontegadea de Inditex receives are invested in premises that are then rented to the different brands of the group to install their stores or stores in them. That Pontegadea is the owner of the main premises of Inditex is a strategic advantage (in addition to a fine irony), since thus the textile can better deal with the variations in the price of the real estate market and not shoot their operational costs. OK To what is published For the economic one Expansionin 2024, Inditex paid 46 million euros for real estate rental to Pontegadea. That figure represents 18% more than the previous year, when the figure reached 39 million. In Xataka | Amancio Ortega: the billionaire who lives as one more neighbor. Except for private jets and superyates Image | Gtres, Flickr (José Román)

Airbnb has just eliminated 65,000 tourist floors. The problem is that consumption has found another 55,000

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Spain has been living for years in a free bar of tourist floors, so in May, the Ministry of Consumer He pressed a red button against Airbnband activated it in more than 65,000 floors that considered that they breached legislation. The reasons? Do not include license, include a erroneous, or lack all the necessary information. The government finally has achieved its goalalthough it has a new almost equally ambitious. Goodbye to 65,000 floors. The Ministry of Consumption led by Pablo Bustinduy has announced that Airbnb has retired the more than 65,000 illegal ads whose elimination had been demanding for months. Three resolutions had been sent from the Ministry, and They specified That “in all cases these are complete housing for tourist use, no individual room ads appear” Yes, but. After this first batch that has ended the publications outside the platform, the Consumer Analysis Unit has communicated the existence of another 54,728 illegal ads that do not have “rental registration number”, the tuition that since July 1 they need to announce and operate on platforms such as Booking or Airbnb. The government has been firm on its road map, and has announced That will not stop: “The Consumer Analysis Unit will continue working to identify and report potential illegal ads on different digital platforms specialized in the rental of tourist accommodations.” The problems for Airbnb are not over. In the absence of knowing if after the agreement with Housing Airbnb it will proceed with this new list of ads as with the more than 65,000 retired ads, the company is still immersed in problems with the Bustinduy Ministry. At the end of the year, consumption opened a sanctioning file to the company, for illicit advertising (ads without license number). It remains subject to a formal investigation that can end in an economic sanction if the infractions attributed to them are confirmed. In that case, it faces fines of up to 100,000 euros, although according to the file, it can become between 4 and 6 times higher than the money obtained with illegal practices. Justice supports government (for the moment). After requesting the elimination of the more than 65,000 ads, the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid had backed twice that Airbnb withdraw with immediate effect 5,800 ads. Despite the requested precautionary measures, the company was forced to eliminate these ads, located in Andalusia, Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencian Community and the Basque Country. The reason for not stopping the legal procedure was that the court did not consider that there were “irreparable damages” for Airbnb. A consequence of the war to Airbnb: more expensive hotels. Barcelona has been limiting tourist floors since 2014, looking for the rental market. However, the rental price has not stopped in the city: 72% shot from that date until 2023. But also The price of hotels has risen: 8% from 2023 to 2024 and 30% since 2019. From Xataka we have contacted Airbnb to know its position on the new government application. We will update if we receive more information. Image | Kaspars Upmanis in Unspash In Xataka | Neither air conditioning nor fan: the best thing to cool in summer is a pool. In these platforms they are rented for hours

China wanted to turn a village into a great tourist resort. Did not have the numantine resistance of a neighbor

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For a while to this part, the Guizhou area, in downtown China, has become the stage of impossible architectures. In fact, there is a imposing mountain chainbut a bridge so high has been raised that they fit Two Eiffel towers Under him. Not far from there, one person is raising another titanic work: a kind of street castle. A challenge to demolition. I told the weekend The New York Times. In a high grass plain in the Chinese province of Guizhou, a structure that Challenge the laws of physicsurbanism and the very bureaucracy. Composed of eleven floors of reddish wooden rooms embedded by each other, supported by pulleys, water cubes and recycled columns, Chen Tianming’s house seems taken from an enlightened novel by Dr. Seuss or delighted world From El Castillo Ambulante of Ghibli. At first glance, it may seem like a fragile and improvised extravagance, but for its creator and inhabitant, 43, it represents a tenacious affirmation of freedomidentity and resistance to state power. From the ninth floor, to which I access homeless stairs without any railing, Chen observes the uniform apartment buildings where his old neighbors They were relocated. He chose another way: a vertical, personal and challenging. Architecture against forced uprooting. It all started In 2018when the Xingyi government announced the demolition of Chen’s hometown to build A resort. The compensation offer was considered ridiculous by his family, who refused to leave. When the excavators began to destroy, Chen left his messenger work in Hangzhou and returned to defend his parents’ house. Initially motivated by an economic logic (compensation depended on the built area), began adding floors with his brother using recycled materials. But what began as a pragmatic measure became a personal obsession. Apartment on floor, his house grew with him, as a physical extension of his determination to stay, resist, and transform a rural home into a work of inhabited art. And architecture as a manifesto. While officials They insisted in outlaw The structure and sent eviction notifications, Chen responded With nails, ropes and books. The man had studied mathematics before leaving the university, and worked as a calligraphy seller, insurance agent and delivery man, but found in the construction a form of expression that transcended the utility. Each floor had A function or a symbol: A reading corner in the fifth, an outdoor tea house in the sixth, hanging plants and suspended objects in the eighth, a bedroom always higher. Your tools: stairs, pulleys, old woods and their own body. The house became newspaper, shelter and trench. Chen, what He claims to feel “Guardian of the village,” he dedicated his mornings to inspect every corner and repair damage with such ingenious solutions as strategic buckets and columns elevated by the windows. A family history. Despite the skepticism of their neighbors, who accuse them of selfishness or foolishness, the Chen family He has joined Around this unlikely structure. Their parents, accustomed to receiving curious visitors on weekends, with stoic patience the decision of their child. Even his brother has suggested decorating the house With lanterns at night. Together they have chosen isolation against the contempt of the former neighbors who moved. Meanwhile, demolition threat seems have deflated: The resort project was frozen due to lack of funds, in a province marked by Pharaonic developments unfinished. Chen, however, continues to build, not by necessity or ambition, but because it says that each new floor is a personal challenge, an intimate conquest against time and entropy. Uncertain legacy. Obviously, Chen Tianming’s house is not intended to last, and he knows it. He acknowledges that, without its constant maintenance, he would collapse in a couple of years. But he also states that while he is standing, his house will be. He has invested little More than $ 20,000 in materials and about 4,000 in lawyers. His expenses, no doubt, are not those of a professional builder, but rather those of a stubborn artist. Although the government has placed a sign warning of Structural Dangersmany neighbors express admiration against originality and will embodied in the structure. Its construction violates known urban codes, but embodies a form of resistance that many feel their own. “If they demolished it, it would be a shame,” some counted to the Times. In a constant China Forced modernizationthe Chen tower is more than a nail: it is a declaration of intentions. Image | Azylber, YouTube In Xataka | This bridge built by China is so high that two Eiffel tower fit under it. And they have built it in just four years In Xataka | China has an imposing sacred mountain of 2,500 meters high with a surprise at its top: two temples

convert schools into tourist experience

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If we look back for a year until today, the word that best defines the situation in many rural areas of Japan is despairand is given by a birth crisis and aging of the population that affects several layers of social fabric. That is why they are betting unpublished in bring immigrantsor there are villages where, literally, there are More dolls than neighborsor they are even offering thousands of euros for attracting youth. Drift has led to School closureand now they have found an unpublished solution to the centers. The sunset of classrooms. I told it in an extensive BBC report And we have gone counting months ago, Japan faces a silent but deep transformation: every year, about 450 rural schools close their doors, victims of the demographic aging and of the exodus Youth to the big cities. What were previously training and community life centers become empty structures that reflect the depopulation of entire regions. Miyoshi, a remote municipality of the Shikoku IslandIt is a paradigmatic example. Its population has decreased dramatically since 1955, going from almost 78,000 inhabitants to just 20,000with more than 40% of its residents exceeding 65 years. In this context, the closure of the Deai Elementary School in 2005 seemed only one more fact in the chronicle of the rural decline. An designer and an idea. And here an unprecedented name and initiative arise. It was in 2014 when the Designer Shuko Uemoto He visited Miyoshi with his little son. What began as a getaway became a revelation: pure air and the natural environment caused an immediate improvement in the health of their son, who suffered asthma. That personal impact, added to the overwhelming silence and the beauty of the landscape, inspired a vision into a vision: transform an abandoned school into a Rest spacehealth and community. As soon as he discovered the Deai building, surrounded by trees and crossed by the rumor of a river, he knew that he had found the perfect place for his project. From the classroom to the accommodation. So HARE TO KE BORNa rural accommodation that takes its name from an ancient Japanese dichotomy: Hare, the holidays and extraordinary days, and Ke, the daily life. The concept invites recover balance Between them, in contrast to a modernity that has saturated the everyday of constant stimuli. The rooms occupy old carefully restored classrooms, spaces where blackboards, desks, laboratory bottles and murals painted by former students are still preserved. The design does not erase the memory of the place, but it welcomes and enhances it, offering visitors an intimate and deeply rooted sensory experience. Miyoshi Sleep like never. The hotel has specialized in what call “Sleep Trips”experiences focused on improving sleep quality. From a brief questionnaire, guests receive personalized medicinal infusions, accompanied by aromatherapy, spring water baths, and sessions in cedar sauna overlooking the forest. Everything is designed to “reconnect the five senses” with a slower, more natural vital rhythm. In a country where light and sound pollution is omnipresent, the absolute silence and the total darkness of Miyoshi are, for many, A revelation. Sleep well, even just one night, transforms the entire trip, says Uemoto to the British environment. “Other” tourism. But HARE TO KE It is much more than a hotel. Its impact has been so deep that former students and even the former director have returned to visit the building, now revitalized. Local elders gather in the old sports field for Play Gateballwhile guests observe from the classrooms turned into common rooms. In addition, the hotel organizes kitchen workshops with local products, monthly fairs and cultural activities such as classes of Awa Odorithe traditional dance of Tokushima. All this not only strengthens the link between visitors and residents, but helps to support the traditions that, without intervention, could be extinguished. Ancestral legacy. The experience in Miyoshi goes beyond rest: it is part of a cultural and historical landscape that resists over time. Guests can participate in the Mount Tsurugi Festivalwhich includes a Ritual procession over 900 years old. Or can travel the Iya Valley and cross their iconic liana bridges, or taste dinners made with cultivated cereals In inclined terraces up to 40 degrees. Everything seems thought to integrate the visitor into a way of life that has been transmitted for generations, and that now finds a continuity through tourism (respectful). Replicated model. From the opening of Hare to Ke, at least 13 more schools In Miyoshi they have been converted into coffees, offices or new accommodations. A revitalization model, promoted by the local administration, which has returned economic activity, community self -esteem and visibility to a region condemned to oblivion. So much, the challenge is huge: Japan loses about 900,000 inhabitants a year, and it is estimated that More than 40% of his municipalities could cease to exist in the coming decades. Under that scenario, the Miyoshi case It shows that it is possible to fight against oblivion, not with great megaprojects, but with sustainable proposals and deeply rooted in memory. Image | HARE TO KE, 京浜にけ In Xataka | In his desperate career against rural depopulation, Japan has a star measure: 7,500 euros if you move there In Xataka | The situation in the Japan field is so desperate that they are betting on an unprecedented solution: bring immigrants

Years ago Lisbon set out to be a tourist capital. Now it has become the greatest tourist hell in Europe

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Lisbon is the mecca of the cream cakesfado, sardines and tiles, but if we talk about real estate market it is undoubtedly the city of change. Little (or nothing) has to do with today’s Lisbon with that of two decades ago, the prior to the financial crisis. The Portuguese capital has managed to sneak into the international investment map and establish itself as Tourist destinationbut it hasn’t left him for free. On the way it has become the city More “uninquerable” from Europe, with a real estate market more focused on Expats or tourists than in their neighbors. The former buy houses to use them as second residences Or in search of high profitability while the latter, the Lisbon, have seen how housing became so careful that many have renounced the perspective of renting whole floors and are content with rooms. Lisbon, “Insequible” city. The Lisbon real estate market fit several adjectives: it is dynamic, attractive For investors and with upward valuesbut there is another peculiarity in which it stands out about the rest of European metropolis: the Insequibility. According to Numbeopresents the ‘worst’ relationship between the average price of housing and available family income. At least from the perspective of the native population interested in buying a house. The platform assigns to the Portuguese capital An index of 21.1, above other large (and faces) European metropolis, such as London(18,6), Paris (16,9), Munich (15), Vienna(14,9) o Barcelona(12.5). Madrid occupies for example the 53rd position of The tablewith a result of 11.6 points. Prices and income. It is not so much that housing is More expensive in Lisbon that in those other cities as of their relationship with income in a country where minimum wage It is maintained low (despite Your progressive ascent) and the half -gross salary was around 2024 1,600 euros/ month. “In a country where 60% of taxpayers earn less than 1,000 euros per month, finding a rent below that price in the capital is only possible if you are willing to live in 20 m2 or less,” warns Agustín Cocola-Gantresearcher at the University of Lisbon, in a tribune of The Guardianin which it analyzes the challenges of the city. A percentage: 176%. Number data is not the only ones that reflect the change that the Lisbon real estate market has experienced during the last decade. Some calculations show that housing was more than 176% in a matter of a decade, between 2014 and 2024, a percentage that would be even more pronounced in the historic center. According to idealistIn 2015 the M2 in the sale market cost 2,206 euros. Today it would exceed 5,700. In the case of rent it passed From € 8.4/m2 to € 22.4/m2 During the same period. And the forecasts managed by the sector show that these values ​​will continue to climb. “It is expected that housing prices both in Lisbon and Porto will continue to grow in 2025, supported by an ongoing recovery after the previous market corrections,” Comment The Savills. “The market remains stable, with a constant growth that signs it a positive perspective for next year.” Although the Lisbon case is especially interesting, the price increase It expands to the whole of Portugal. Looking back. At this point the question is obvious … why is that increasing? How has Lisbon became the most unassumable city in terms of housing price? For cocola-grant The key is in the years after the financial crisis of 2008, when Portugal adopted a shock plan that, among other objectives, set out to make Lisbon a more appetizing destination for tourists and real estate investment. The formula to achieve this had little novelty, remember The expert of the University of Lisbon. The government flexible the rental market, turned to fiscal policy to attract investment funds and applied incentives to capture buyers who do not reside in Portugal, a formula that It has also been tested In Spain. In 2012, the country deployed its Golden Visa program in Portugal, which allowed him to accumulate an investment of thousands of millions of euros. Between tourists, nomads and Expats. The country not only set out to capture real estate investment. Another of its objectives was to claim as a destination to Digital nomadsstudents and travelers and tourists, both those interested in staying in hotels and in apartments through temporary rentals. The result was that thousands of homes The city began to be announced on Airbnb, displacing traditional tenants and Tensioning The market. The digital Mesagem of Lisbon remember that only between 2014 and 2018 the local accommodation (the short -term rentals) grew at a 100% annual rate in Lisbon, especially in certain areas, such as Mercy either Santa Maria Maior. “Dramatic levels”. Cocola-Gant Point out that in the Historic Center of Lisbon the airbnb rents have risen to “dramatic levels” and in the most tourist neighborhoods about 70% of the homes have a short -term rental license, a density that would exceed that of others cities hyperturistifiedsuch as London or Barcelona. Not just that. The hotel offer has shot, tripling since 2010 and with dozen new projects on the horizon. Hi, Gentrification. The researcher at the University of Lisbon Explain That, given the low interest rates and given the fiscal advantages offered by Portugal, investors were interested in Lisboeta real estate park. After all, the country offered them good conditions and houses that were revalued over time and were well received in the rental market. That investment allowed rehabilitating real estate, but had its ‘face B’: a Gentrification Until then almost unknown in much of the city. “Despite the improvements, the city center lost 25% of its population between 2011 and 2021”, Precise. According to their calculations, only 56.5% of the homes that were built or reformed throughout those years ended up becoming main residences. In other words: a good part of that work that allowed to rehabilitate the city resulted in homes that are empty today, are dedicated to temporary rental or are used as second residences. … Read more

We thought that Japan’s tourist boom was an opportunity for AI. It has become an unexpected remedy

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Japan is one of those countries that one thinks knowing without having stepped on it. For his millenary temples, For their trains that exceed 300 km/hfor its technology and for its robots. That is why it does not strange that Millions of people Make the bags every year to travel their cities, their mountains and even its less known rural areas. What is surprising is this: how AI begins to break through where, until now, only human talent was accepted. The paradox is as Japanese as its culture: a country where hospitality is deeply valued, and, at the same time, where those who can practice it are scarce. Because if something has revealed the tourist tsunami that Japan is receiving is that the lack of bilingual guides has become a serious problem. It is not new. Many retired during the difficult years that the sector was going through during the pandemic, others changed from sector. But now the situation squeezes, and the country begins to respond. Where before there was a guide with smile, now there is an app with ia The scarcity of guides is not an anecdote. It is a reality that begins to leave a mark on the experience of thousands of travelers. As Nikkei Asia collectsJapan had something more than 46,000 bilingual guides. The figure included both licensed professionals and certified by local governments, and even people with sufficient knowledge and to perform that role. Four years later, the figure had fallen almost 20%. In 2023 there were about 37,700. The trend is still down. The reasons are understood quickly. The pandemia devastated the tourist calendars, froze reservations and left thousands of guides Freelance No stable income. Many looked for another way. Some retired. And although years have passed since those times, what has remained is an aging template: about 60 % of licensed guides are over 60 years old. If we talk about the official exam, in 2024 only 380 people approved it. The agencies notice it. Some recognize that they have had to Cancel or reprogram tours Because, simply, there was no one available to attend them. Before, when their workforce was at the limit, they could resort to independent professionals. Now, not that. And although Since 2018 Japan allows Make payment tours without the need for the official license, a good part of tourists and agencies continue to prefer authorized guides, with knowledge, accreditations and, above all, trust. Today, in places like Okinawa, there are tourists who prefer the robotic voice of applications such as the operator Cerulean Blue before running out of tour. The system detects its location by means of the mobile GPS, shows real -time information with augmented reality and active audioguías as the visitor advances. That gesture, almost imperceptible, says much of the present … and perhaps also of the future. Because AI still does not improvise jokesHe does not feel pride when talking about his city, he does not respond with a smile. But when the guide does not arrive, technology seems to be ready to respond. And the most interesting thing is that tourism is not an isolated case. What is happening with the guides is part of a broader pattern that begins to be noticed strongly in Japan. In agriculture, for example, Companies are using Apps based on AI capable of identifying plants diseases with just one photo. In schools, English teachers do not supply, so some already use virtual assistants who talk with students. In public administration, municipalities Like Yokosuka They have started using Chatgpt To summarize meetings and write documents. According to calculations of the Consistory itself, the time saving is counted in thousands of hours a year. All this responds to the same structural problem: the lack of hands. Japan is a technological power, yes. But it is also a country that is aging and has a very low birth rate. Images | Micah Camper | Angel | Geoff Oliver In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

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