Thousands of demonstrators carried signs and chanted “Tourists go home” as they marched through central Barcelona over the weekend in a show of resistance to mass tourism. Local police said 2,800 people took to the streets in protests that included protesters squirting water pistols at unsuspecting tourists as the city struggles with the effects of overwhelming tourist numbers.
Another anti-tourism rally took place in Spain on the evening of Saturday July 6, continuing a series of protests that have spread across the country this year. Demonstrators in Barcelona held signs reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and marched down the busy Ramblas, demanding “tourists leave our neighbourhoods.”
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The demonstration began at 6:30 pm in Les Drassanes and was organised by more than 140 organisations, including neighbourhood associations and housing activists, Catalunya News reported. Demonstrators say the influx of tourists has increased the cost of living and property prices, deepening social inequalities and limiting access to housing.
Waves of anger spread across Barcelona
The latest wave of anger follows mass protests on June 8 when around 3,000 young people took to the streets. Organized by left-wing youth groups, the demonstrations highlighted a range of issues from housing to the environment.
According to real estate website Idealista, rents in popular tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid rose 18% in June compared to a year earlier.
“We are here to protest against mass tourism in Barcelona. The city is becoming more and more hospitable to tourists. We want a city for its citizens, not just for tourists,” one protester told Reuters, while another added: “Restaurants and hotels are making huge profits but people are struggling to make ends meet. This is a problem.”
Martà Cusó, from the Gothic Quarter Residents’ Association, appeared on the Spanish TV show Els Matins to explain the motivations of the protests. He later wrote on Twitter: “I tried to explain the reasons for the demonstrations on 6 July: tourism is not only a question of massification, but also of an economic model, of impoverishment and the destruction of neighbourhoods!”
Cuzo also shared a photo from the protest, with the caption: “Enough with massification, enough with insecurity, enough with exploitation, enough with the destruction of territories!”
Responding to mounting pressure, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Corboni has announced plans to phase out all short-term rentals and reduce the number of tourist apartments in the city by 2028. Spain’s Socialist Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez also supports these measures, emphasizing the need for affordable housing.
Similar protests in other tourist destinations
The weekend’s protests have been followed by similar demonstrations in other popular tourist destinations, including the Balearic and Canary Islands. On May 25, around 15,000 people marched in Palma, Mallorca, carrying signs reading “SOS Tourism” and “Save Mallorca, foreigners leave”.
Protests also took place in Ibiza the following day, and in April locals in the Canary Islands expressed concern about the impact of mass tourism on housing, the environment and jobs.
Decoding “overtourism”
In 2001, Freya Petersen coined the term “overtourism” to lament excessive tourism development and poor governance in the city of Pohnpei. More than 20 years later, the problem is alarmingly common in top destinations around the world.
Overtourism is not just a journalistic tool to stoke fears in host communities or criticize tourists through anti-tourism activism: while there is no denying that poor management exacerbates the problem, it transcends simple management challenges.
Governments at all levels need to adopt robust policy responses to manage tourist demand, rather than simply cashing in on the benefits from tourism spending and investment. The problem of overtourism is often simplified as a simple problem of too many tourists, which, while a symptom, does not capture the complexity of the problem.
Overtourism essentially occurs when tourist demand exceeds the carrying capacity of a host community. Tourism supply chains often stimulate demand without considering the carrying capacity of a destination or the impact on the well-being of local communities.
The cultural and social dimensions of overtourism
Overtourism is also a social phenomenon: in densely populated countries like China and India, crowded spaces are socially accepted and concerns about overtourism are rarely voiced, highlighting different cultural expectations around personal space and exclusivity.
Interestingly, Africa is not generally associated with overtourism. However, whether in ancient European cities or the sub-Saharan savannas, an unbridled increase in tourist numbers is not sustainable. Cultural clashes between tourists and host communities can manifest as violations of public order, nuisance behavior and inconsiderate use of space.
Strategies to combat overtourism
Radical policy measures to break the vicious cycle of overtourism are becoming increasingly common. For example, Amsterdam closed the city’s cruise terminal and banned cruise ships from docking. Reducing tourism to reduce visitor numbers has been proposed as a solution. However, the economic trade-offs of reduced tourist numbers are an important consideration.
Some destinations, such as the Spanish island of Lanzarote, have shifted to a focus on quality over quantity tourism. This emphasis on lucrative visitors is seen elsewhere, such as Bali. Dispersing tourists outside popular spots is another strategy, but its effectiveness has been mixed.
Demarketing, or methods to discourage tourists from visiting popular destinations, has met with mixed success. Social media influencers and travel writers often counter these efforts by promoting popular spots. In France, tourists have been encouraged to avoid Mont Saint-Michel and go elsewhere. Introducing entrance fees or access restrictions, as seen in Venice, is another deterrent, assuming the revenue is used effectively.
Advocacy and awareness campaigns such as the Palau Pledge and New Zealand’s Tiaki Promise aim to promote responsible tourism behaviour, but the persistence of irresponsible behaviour has called into question the effectiveness of these campaigns.
Comprehensive solution
Addressing overtourism requires a multi-faceted approach tailored to each destination. The tourism supply chain must share responsibility and redirect tourists away from popular destinations to ensure the problem does not shift elsewhere. Local governments must enforce capacity limits and be held accountable for their actions.
Tourists must act responsibly, as their actions have a significant impact on local communities. Investors in tourism should support initiatives that put local needs above profits.
