Over-crowding of destinations takes center stage as one of the main topics of the ITB Conference in Berlin and sharing economy accommodations were singled out as especially destructive in problem areas.

“Destinations have real problems when the real people cannot afford to live there anymore,” Jürgen Schmude, chair of Economic Geography and Tourism Research at the Ludwig-Maximilian University of Munich said.

One of the main culprits of creating housing shortages in destinations is Airbnb. As locals find it more lucrative to rent out apartments to tourists staying a couple of nights or a week, the local people have a harder time finding accommodations.

President of the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism, Harald Pechlaner, says that this can not only lead to problem for the local people, but also for hotel chains as employees with an extremely negative view of tourists are less likely to deliver good hospitality.

“For hotels it is very important that their employees have a positive view of the guests,” Pechlaner said.

Berlin is one of the cities that suffer from a housing shortage and tourism boom. Authorities have tried to crack down on domestic properties being used as an alternative to hotels. As of 2016, the city banned short-term rentals, fining people who rent out their apartments without permits up to 100,000 euro. The local government has even put up a site where disgruntled neighbors can report these properties.

While a single policy cannot fully combat the effects of over-crowding on the local population, the experts at ITB warned that it is something better dealt with today before destinations become unattractive.

“We hear stories of European destinations flooded with tourists and locals pushed out of their homes to make room for Airbnb,” David Ermen of PwC said. “It is a mater of planning properly and finding the right match. How can we change tourism policy to make sure that we do not have the problem in the future.”

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