Thousands of protesters took to the streets in Barcelona and other European tourist hotspots on Sunday in the most widespread coordinated action yet against what they call 'touristification'. Demonstrations occurred in at least a dozen cities across Spain, Italy, and Portugal, with campaigners arguing that the tourism industry is reshaping urban areas to serve visitors at the expense of local residents.
In Barcelona, an estimated 600 to 800 demonstrators marched through the city centre chanting 'Your holidays, my misery' and carrying banners reading 'Mass tourism kills the city' and 'Their greed brings us ruin'. Some protesters fired water pistols, set off coloured flares, and placed stickers on shop windows and hotels. Barcelona, with a population of 1.6 million, attracted 26 million tourists last year.
Similar actions took place in Palma de Mallorca, where thousands marched, and in the Italian port of Genoa, where campaigners dragged a cardboard cruise ship through narrow alleyways to symbolise that tourism does not fit in the city. In Lisbon, a procession was planned featuring a replica of St Anthony being 'evicted' from his church to protest a proposed luxury hotel.
Organisers stressed that the protests were not aimed at individual tourists. 'People who go on vacation to one place or another are not our enemies,' said Asier Basurto, a member of the 'tourism degrowth' platform in San Sebastián. 'Our enemies are those who speculate on housing, who exploit workers and those who are profiting handsomely from the touristification of our cities.'
In Ibiza, protesters highlighted issues such as water restrictions during a drought, while luxury villas and hotels continue to fill their pools. The rising cost of living has left many workers living in vans or caravans. In Venice, locals protested against a surge in short-term rentals and hotels tightening their grip on the housing market, with more tourist beds than registered residents.
The coordinated day of action was planned after groups from Spain, Italy, Portugal, and France met in Barcelona in April under the Southern European Network Against Touristification. Campaigners are calling for a rethink of a tourism model they say funnels profits to a few while causing soaring rents, environmental degradation, and precarious jobs for locals.
