Madrid wants us to put tourists on the lute

PalmIt seems the experience of "Airbnb-izing" our lives hasn't been enough. Although many government officials have acknowledged the enormous mistake it has made in terms of access to housing to turn homes into small hotels, it seems that, deep down, they don't believe it. This is the only way to explain why the new Maritime Regulations drawn up by the State allow private boats to be rented out for up to three months. In other words, as Laura López reports, any owner can dedicate their boat to taking people on trips, for a fee, of course.

There is a precedent: the fact that fishermen can take tourists on board. There's always a dangerous discourse behind this: supplementing income. The idea of obtaining extraordinary resources by touristifying and pricing our lives seems to me an aberration, not only economically, but also socially. It is the total and absolute commodification of human relationships, which, therefore, completely dehumanizes us.

The dream of traveling and meeting a fisherman or someone who owns a small fishing boat, and only if the conditions are right and there's intercultural dialogue and a connection, being able to come aboard, is over. Now everything will be much simpler: a space with a price tag. A taximeter and a cold relationship with only one context: money.

I'm sure the Directorate General of the Merchant Marine, the author of this mess, spends all day talking about sustainability. But it has approved a measure that increases pollution because it intends for boats to be constantly moving. And, worse, it thinks the sea can withstand anything and everyone. And no, it needs to rest. Nothing happens if the boat is stopped for a little while.