Hungary’s government is considering a plan to impose a moratorium on new Airbnb licenses in Budapest and to raise taxes on short-term apartment rentals in the capital city, according to Economy Minister Marton Nagy. This announcement comes about a month after residents of Budapest’s sixth district voted to ban short-term rentals starting in 2026, marking the first such ban in one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations. Some residents in European tourist hotspots blame short-term rentals for driving up home prices.
In central Europe, Budapest was the most popular city for short-term stays in 2023, with 6.7 million guest nights, according to Eurostat, ahead of Vienna, Prague, and Warsaw. Eurostat figures show almost 719 million guest nights spent in the European Union were booked via online platforms like Airbnb and Booking last year, with Paris leading EU capitals with over 19 million guest nights.
Nagy stated, “We are thinking about a possible moratorium and a tax hike in Budapest,” adding that the government had not made a decision yet. He emphasized that “the Airbnb market will change, and it is sure that it cannot grow further,” calling the issue a question of housing policy.
Nagy also mentioned that the government is negotiating the proposed new rules with trade organizations in the tourism industry and that changes would not affect short-term rental properties outside the capital. In Budapest’s sixth district, 54% of voters backed the ban on short-term rentals, with a 20.52% turnout in mid-September.
The Israeli military carried out heavy airstrikes on south Lebanon on Thursday after issuing evacuation orders for three locations, saying Lebanese ar...
Authorities in South Korea fear five people remain trapped on Thursday after the collapse of a large structure at a power station in the city of Ulsan...
Typhoon Kalmaegi slammed into Vietnam, forcing authorities to cancel hundreds of flights and order people to stay indoors, two days after the storm st...
Uzbekistan and Türkiye are negotiating new measures to ease legal labour migration, including an electronic work visa system for Uzbek nationals and ...
Poland will roll out a new military training programme this month as part of a broader plan to train around 400,000 people in 2026, the Defence Minist...
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán announced plans to introduce a pension top-up as part of a wider pre-election spending drive ahead of the 2026 national vote.
The United States plans to cut the number of troops stationed on Europe's eastern flank, including soldiers who were to be stationed at Romania's Mihail Kogalniceanu air base.
Tens of thousands of Viktor Orban supporters marched in Budapest on Thursday to show support for the nationalist premier on a key Hungarian anniversary, as he faces the most acute threat to his 15-year rule from a pro-EU opposition party ahead of 2026 elections.
It was "not nice" that Russian President Vladimir Putin might travel to EU member Hungary for talks on Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Monday.
The Champions League match between Qarabağ FK and Chelsea ended 2–2 at the Tofig Bahramov Republican Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday (5 November).
Brussels airport, Belgium's busiest, reopened on Wednesday morning after drone sightings during the previous night had resulted in it being temporarily closed, although some flights remained disrupted, its website said.
A French court has postponed the trial of a suspect linked to the Louvre jewellery heist in a separate case, citing heavy media scrutiny and concerns about the fairness of the proceedings.
Russia remains in constant contact with Venezuela over tensions in the Caribbean, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Tuesday.
U.S. federal investigators have recovered the flight recorders from the wreckage of a UPS cargo plane that crashed and erupted in flames during takeoff in Louisville, Kentucky, killing at least 12 people and halting airport operations.
Brussels airport, Belgium's busiest, reopened on Wednesday morning after drone sightings during the previous night had resulted in it being temporarily closed, although some flights remained disrupted, its website said.
A Japanese travel agency announced plans to offer point-to-point space travel by the 2030s, promising trips between Tokyo and U.S. cities like New York in just 60 minutes.
China's national railway recorded 23.13 million trips on the first day of the country's eight-day National Day holiday on Wednesday, up nearly 8% from a year earlier and setting a single-day record, state media CCTV reported.
Qantas Airways said a fire alert that triggered the pilot of a flight from Sydney to make a mayday call before landing safely at Auckland airport on Friday was likely a false alarm.
The airspace over Denmark's Aalborg Airport was reopened early on Friday (26 September) after a closure for the second night in a row due to suspected drone activity, police said.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment