Our quiet village has been turned into the ‘Magaluf of North Wales’ – tourists are killing our hometown
LOCALS in a quiet village say it’s been turned into the “Magaluf of North Wales” due to the tourists.
Furious residents in Llanberis, nestled at the foot of Mount Snowdon, point the finger at Airbnb, claiming the company is helping “kill” off their Welsh town.
A sticker saying “Death to Airbnb” along with a noose around the company’s logo has been spotted in the village which attracts climbers, walkers, runners as well as those who enjoy a swim in the twin lakes of Llyn Peris and Llyn Padarn.
Locals claim they have to endure “rowdy parties” around the houses and fights have broken out in the high street.
On one occasion a woman dressed in a Ginger Spice fancy dress outfit is said to have been spotted fighting with another woman.
One resident dubbed the Snowdonia village as the “Magaluf of north Wales” after they spotted young women in thongs going to buy fish and chips.
While the village has just 2,000 people living there, it attracts around 700,000 visitors each year, boosting the demand for accommodation.
Some locals trying to cash in on the Airbnb boom have set up home in their garden sheds and rent out their homes to tourists.
Others at their wits’ end though have decided to leave the village completely.
Dad-of-four Andrew Owen, 50, told the MailOnline: “The number of Airbnb’s is killing the village. There are just too many of them.
“There’s parties and there has even been fights in the village after people have drunk too much.”
The carer added: “There’s little affordable housing here now. I’m worried my kids won’t be able to find anywhere to live and will have to move away.
“It all chips away and young families have to move as landlords sell up and then the schools become empty. We’ll lose our Welsh identity.”
Emlyn Baylis, 74, a retired pub landlord, said he knew a woman whose street was taken over by Airbnbs, leaving her without any neighbours and so she became lonely and eventually called it a day.
However, while he said there were too many visitors he didn’t agree with how some of the locals were protesting, saying the sticker campaign was “too much”.
Jane Grover, 61, a hotel landlady who runs the Erw Fair guest house said the hotel owner next door had sold up and it was being turned into an Airbnb with six or eight bedrooms.
She said people were worried it would turn into a “party house”.
Jane added that a lady over the road lives next door to an Airbnb and she says it’s a nightmare due to all the parties where people get “drunk and very rowdy”.
The landlady though admitted she had used Airbnb at times in order to fill her rooms but said they didn’t get breakfast.
Emlyn Hughes, 74, a retired civil servant said some locals had built sheds in their gardens so they could rent out their homes to Airbnb guests.
He did say that his son rents out his place on Airbnb and so didn’t want to blame the company too much.
Emlyn though did say that it could be tricky to find a parking spot near your home when all the guests arrive.
The Sun Online has contacted Airbnb for comment.