'Ireland could face rent hikes of €250 a year by 2031 linked to air tourism'

'The aviation sector is responsible for an estimated 52% of the global tourism industry’s direct emissions and much of the sector’s emissions growth.' File picture

Rising rents across Europe have been linked to “booming air tourism” with Ireland set to face the highest absolute rise by 2031, an advocacy group has warned.

It comes as the Dáil continues to discuss legislation for removing the passenger cap at Dublin Airport.

New research has found popular tourist destinations in Spain and Greece face spiralling rents and an increasingly negative environmental impact from air tourism.

The T&E (Transport & Environment) organisation, Europe’s leading advocacy group for clean transport and energy, has published a new analysis warning that Ireland could face rent hikes of €250 a year by 2031 linked to air tourism, outside of other rent increases.

It also highlighted a growing crisis in Spain, Italy, Greece, and Portugal among other European countries facing an “unaffordable housing crisis”.

T&E found that despite widespread “anti-tourism protests” in some popular destinations, the number of tourists arriving by air continues to rise.

The study, carried out by the New Economics Foundation, also found that rising rents will “primarily affect lower-income households”.

“Ireland is expected to see the largest rise, facing a rent increase of €250 per year,” it found.

The report looked only at data for formal accommodation, such as hotels, due to limited data available for other tourist accommodations.

“If the rise in nights spent in informal accommodation, such as Airbnb, were considered, the growth rates would likely be higher still,” it warned.

“The aviation sector is responsible for an estimated 52% of the global tourism industry’s direct emissions and much of the sector’s emissions growth.

“In Europe, emissions from international tourist arrivals by air are projected to rise over 60% between 2016 and 2030.”

T&E has now called for a new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy to include a focus on reducing international air arrivals in saturated regions and a wider analysis of the air tourism impacts.

It warned that Ireland and other countries are expanding air travel, with €12.9bn committed by the Spanish government last year to boost the sector.

Athens is currently rolling out a €1.3bn expansion to boost annual passenger capacity by 25%, while terminal expansions are actively underway in Lisbon.

Denise Auclair, head of T&E’s Travel Smart Campaign, said: “This study proves we cannot separate the anti-tourism protests on the ground from the surge of flights arriving overhead.

“Trying to manage tourism overcrowding while simultaneously expanding airports in Dublin, Barcelona, or Lisbon is a losing battle.”

She urged governments to put an “immediate stop” to airport expansions and reconsider strategies for tourism and transport connectivity, if they are serious about affordable housing and climate targets.

The T&E said most economic impact assessment approaches in aviation fail to consider effects on property and rent prices, even where such consequences are at the very top of the political agenda.

According to the study, failing to recognise how much air traffic growth drives overtourism and its impacts on communities will result in a narrow and inefficient government response.