Protesters in Spain, Italy and Portugal are calling for a curb on mass tourism – with Barcelona organisers telling demonstrators to bring water pistols to shoot at holidaymakers.
Campaigners say excessive levels of tourism are forcing locals out of affordable housing, raising the cost of living and making the city centres unusable.
The latest in a growing number of protests in recent years, anti-mass tourism demonstrations were planned in Barcelona as well as in seven other Spanish cities, including Granada, Palma and Ibiza.
Protests were also seen in the Portuguese capital Lisbon, as well as in Italian hotspots Venice, Genova, Palermo, Milan and Naples, according to announcements issued by several of the organising groups.
It comes after Sky News reported on makeshift camps on the island of Ibiza, where dozens live with no electricity, water or waste services.
The Menys Turisme Mes Vida (Less Tourism More Life) campaign group had told us: “We say enough to the destruction of the territory, to the precariousness, to the housing crisis, to the loss of rights.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
Carmen Naranjo, a 21-year-old student from Barcelona, told Sky News that some tourists see the Catalonian city as “an amusement park”.
“With the rise of social media and Airbnbs, it seems like we have given up our traditions, festivities, local spots and so on in favour of mass tourism that does not properly engage with Spanish and Catalan culture and our small local businesses,” she said.
“People come and see it as an amusement park, to the point where they have had to close some some landmarks that locals enjoyed going to because of overcrowding.”
“It is not fair for the people of Barcelona to have to endure precarious salaries in hospitality in order to serve mass tourism that stays in these short-term rental apartments, pushing people out of the neighbourhoods we grew up in, as we cannot afford housing anymore.”
Daniel Pardo, one of the organisers of the Barcelona protest, told the Associated Press: “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, also told the news agency: “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.”
He added that he has stopped using Airbnb when travelling, saying that “in the end, you realise that this is taking away housing from people”.
Jaime Rodriguez de Santiago, Airbnb’s general director for Spain and Portugal, said that “a lot of our politicians have found an easy scapegoat to blame 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,” he added.
Mr Rodríguez de Santiago noted that hotels are still the leading accommodation for tourists – with hotels in Barcelona accounting for 20 million tourists in 2024, compared with 12 million who used homes, according to local data.
He also pointed out Barcelona’s mayor Jaume Collboni backing the expansion of the city’s international airport.
Read more:
Pompeii to limit daily number of visitors
Barcelona plans to shut down holiday apartments
The popular destinations trying to limit tourism
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
International travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11% to £617bn this year, with Spain and France among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists.
Spain hosted a record 94 million international visitors in 2024, compared with 83 million in 2019. According to studies cited by its economy minister, the country could see as many as 100 million tourists this year.
