The Government of Mexico City, UNESCO and Airbnb announced an alliance "to position the city as the capital of creative tourism and remote workers in Latin America". The announcement was made known through the Mexico City Government's social networks and Airbnb's news section. However, on August 9th, 2021, UNESCO unveiled the strategy with the intention of "contributing to the reactivation of tourism in a responsible and sustainable way in Mexico, and extending the benefits of cultural and creative tourism to more communities, Airbnb will promote, with the accompaniment of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO"), destinations and experiences outside the traditional tourist circuit."
In this way, Mexico City joins the list of 20 cities around the world, along with other destinations such as Dubai, Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Palm Springs, and Queensland, to become a host destination for remote workers and digital nomads. This initiative is part of Airbnb's Live & Work Anywhere campaign that was launched in May.
Globally, long-term stays (more than 28 days) on Airbnb have increased by almost 25% compared to last year and almost 90% since Q2 2019. This trend is also present in Mexico City where long-term stays grew by more than 30% in Q2 2022 compared to the same period in 2019.
- UNESCO, Airbnb and Mexico City partner to promote the city as a remote working hub
#EnVivo ▶️ La #JefaDeGobierno ofrece conferencia de prensa. La acompañan @turismocdmx, @airbnb_mx y @UNESCOMexico. https://t.co/Mjae5Aqcvq
— Gobierno de la Ciudad de México (@GobCDMX) October 26, 2022
To contextualize the strategies that began to be implemented, the campaign site "Mexico City: Capital of Creative Tourism" expanded a selection of routes and attractions that cover the entire city, as well as the first three experiences resulting from the workshops that UNESCO has led, to add social entrepreneurs to the value chain and link them with hosts and travelers from all over Mexico and the world.
However, this announcement sparked several debates questioning the impact of tourism and disinformation disguised as "good intentions". The reality of large cities is that they are largely made up of people from different states of the country and from different countries of the world. However, due to the pandemic situation, the new era of remote work, and the phenomenon of "digital nomads", the issue of access to housing for the local population has revealed different problems that have been forgotten in the political agendas of the last six years.
The main concerns relate to issues of gentrification and rising prices in some of the main neighborhoods that attract tourism to Mexico City. Over the years, and as a result of different waves, we have witnessed how some territories expel the local population because, having attractive rental prices for the foreign population that manages with another currency, housing rises in price becoming unaffordable for people who receive income in local currency. In addition, as we know, the phenomenon of "digital nomads" is not regulated, so they do not pay taxes in the territories they inhabit.
Carla Luisa Escoffié Duarte, Attorney at Law and Master in Human Rights, expressed her opinion on this issue through her social networks:
The problem is not that they are foreigners, nor did the problem start with them. But coming from the Global North they are attracted by the cost of living, and that generates an impact on urban dynamics of consumption and even housing. No one is saying that "they should be removed". The problem is that the government of Mexico City will be promoting and encouraging the use of Airbnb when it has not generated a diagnosis to know the impact that these platforms are having on access to housing. In other words, while in other countries the impact of Airbnb on access to housing is evaluated and measures are adopted to mitigate its effects, in Mexico City it is being promoted without even questioning the issue.
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According to EIDiario.es, only 40% of the Airbnb offer in Spain is from people renting a single apartment and 34% is managed by real estate agencies and large landlords. A report by HuffPost identified that in New Orleans the top 10 hosts have 311 units offered. Nothing makes us think that in Mexico this discussion is not necessary, especially knowing the impact of Airbnb documented in several cities around the world, as well as considering the rental housing problem in Mexico City. In cities such as Paris, Tokyo, Barcelona, New York, and Berlin, authorities monitor the impact of Airbnb and seek to implement appropriate measures to avoid or at least mitigate the impact that this phenomenon generates in the lives of the inhabitants. The measures do not have to be to prohibit, they can be to limit its use, to carry mandatory registration or tax charges.
Cities, as the reflection of these imposed global systems, demand a much more integral vision with political actions that extend far beyond solving immediate problems, to think about what actions are building the cities of the future today.
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