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.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Moscow for peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, two people familiar wi...
An Iranian tanker was hit by U.S. forces on Saturday near Iran's key oil export hub, Kharg Island, in the Gulf...
Spanish authorities are preparing a new site in Ceuta to accommodate hundreds of migrants who remain on the str...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner will visit Russia then Ukraine over the weekend, Russian state news agency TASS has reported, citing an unnamed source. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also said American envoys will visit the capitals of both countries.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
The Iranian Army has again struck at U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for U.S. attacks on southern and western parts of Iran late on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 18 people and injured more than 100 others.
U.S. efforts to squeeze Iran’s economy through an oil blockade and sanctions are becoming increasingly difficult for Tehran to withstand, according to three senior Iranian sources. Washington is escalating pressure in hopes of securing concessions in future negotiations.
The families of 32 Kenyans who died in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 disaster are set to receive a combined $87.3 million in compensation from victim funds linked to Boeing, bringing a significant chapter in the long-running legal battle closer to a conclusion.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
The U.S. has made its visa bond programme permanent for citizens of 50 countries, requiring some business and tourist visa applicants to pay refundable deposits of up to $20,000. Several Central Asian countries remain on the list, but Uzbekistan is not.
Kazakhstan is set to become the first country in Central Asia to introduce electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxis into its transport system.
The wreckage of a Pan American Airways passenger plane that crashed in 1952 has been located on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean after a seven-year investigation led by the Air/Sea Heritage Foundation in partnership with the Discovery Channel, according to a recent press release.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment