Overtourism Sparks Mass Protests In European Cities

Overtourism rallies have erupted across Europe as locals protest over holidaymakers overpopulating their home towns and cities.

Protests have taken place across Spain, Italy, and Portugal as locals claim the excessive number of holiday visitors is making town and city centres unusable. Demonstrators, angry at almost year-round overcrowding, are calling for a curb on mass tourism, saying it has driven locals out of affordable housing and raised their cost of living.

Anti-mass tourism demonstrations have taken place in Barcelona, where organisers encouraged protestors to make the strength of their feelings known by bringing water pistols to spray at holidaymakers.

Protests were organised in seven other Spanish cities, including Granada, Palma and Ibiza. Demonstrations were also seen in the Portuguese capital Lisbon.

Italian tourist favourites Venice, Genova, Palermo, Milan and Naples also hosted mass protests.

These organised mass rallies are the latest in a growing number of protests in recent years from residents living in popular tourist destinations, as overtourism exacerbates the growing effects of human overpopulation around the world.

It is estimated that around 32 million tourists visit Barcelona each year, a city design to support 1.7 million residents. Venice, a city built for just 250,000 residents, sees an estimated 30 million tourists every year.

Daniel Pardo, one of the organisers of this week’s Barcelona protest, said: “It is very likely the water pistols will be back. In fact, we encourage people to bring their own.”

Txema Escorsa, who lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Barcelona’s residential Gràcia neighbourhood, explained: “It is tough for me to imagine what to do next. If I leave, will I be contributing to Barcelona losing its essence that comes from its locals? But there comes a time when I’m fed up.”

In Ibiza, dozens of people have started living in makeshift camps with no electricity, water, or waste services.

Mallorca’s Menys Turisme Mes Vida (Less Tourism More Life) campaign told Sky News this week: “We say enough to the destruction of the territory, to the precariousness, to the housing crisis, to the loss of rights.”

Last month, Spain’s government ordered Airbnb to remove almost 66,000 holiday rentals from its platform that it claimed had violated local rules.

Jaime Rodriguez de Santiago, Airbnb’s general director for Spain and Portugal, said that “a lot of our politicians have found us an easy scapegoat for the inefficiencies of their policies in terms of housing and tourism over the last 10, 15, 20 years. If you look at the over-tourism problem in Spain, it has been brewing for decades, and probably since the 60s”.

With the global population predicted to reach 9.8 billion by 2050, the number of tourists visiting already overcrowded cities is surely set to rise. And although tourism provides vital revenue for many holiday destinations, tension between residents and tourists is certain to become further inflamed.

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