ABSTRACT
This chapter proposes a more direct way of thinking the link between tourism and gentrification which turns tourists into gentrifiers due to the new short-term rental market. It argues that short-term rentals must be considered as a new segment of the housing market, which tightly interacts with more classic segments such as long-term rentals. The chapter also argues that the emergence of this new real estate market fuels a direct form of tourism gentrification. Analysing the link between the expansion of Airbnb and the evolution of the real estate market is particularly interesting in the case of Reykjavík, because it happened against the backdrop of the economic crisis which has had considerable effects on real estate values. The Icelandic real estate market is the mirror image of the economic fluctuations of the country. Indeed, the economic boom of this 'Nordic Tiger' in the 2000s relied partially on the building sector, whose expansion led to a strong and rapid urban sprawl.
