Recent protests across southern Europe are shifting the focus of overtourism anger from individual holidaymakers to the financial backers of the tourism industry. In Portugal, hundreds of demonstrators marched through the winding roads of Parque Natural da Arrábida to block the privatisation of five beaches by a luxury real-estate firm. Residents of Setúbal, a working-class coastal city south of Lisbon, invoked memories of learning to swim in Arrábida’s frigid waters, insisting their children should enjoy the same right.
Protests Against Privatisation
Demonstrators chanted that “Arrábida is not for sale” and held signs reading “No to new kings”. The language echoes protests in Albania, where Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s plans to build a luxury hotel on Sazan island and develop the Zvërnec peninsula sparked the country’s largest uprisings since the fall of communism. Tens of thousands took to the streets of Tirana. The so-called “flamingo revolution”, initially focused on environmental concerns over disruption to natural habitats, has evolved into a national debate about corruption, oligarchic interests and luxury tourism.
Arrabida’s Unesco Status Under Threat
Arrabida was classified as a biosphere reserve by Unesco in 2023, recognising its interconnected beauty of pine forests, sandy beaches and traditions of fishing, olive cultivation and wine production. The Mirpuri family, reportedly behind the privatisation push, are a well-connected business dynasty that made its fortune in commercial aviation and has been awarded Portuguese government contracts. Abroad, campaigners accuse them of leasing their fleet to carry out deportation orders, including for the UK Home Office. A protester interviewed by TVI explained that many are drawn to this fight because they have already experienced the loss of Tróia – an adjacent peninsula now referred to as the “Hamptons of Portugal”, reportedly hosting properties owned by Nicole Kidman, George Clooney and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Economic Mismatch in Southern Europe
The battle for Arrábida reflects recent changes threatening Portugal’s way of life. Going to the local beach is an important ritual for Portuguese families, but while the country’s surging economy and fiscal responsibility are lauded in the Economist and Financial Times, more than a third of the population can no longer afford a week-long holiday. Younger generations feel they have no choice but to seek brighter futures abroad, producing a general sense of pessimism and indignity. Similar conditions exist across southern Europe: Cyprus welcomes over a million British tourists yearly but has one of the highest emigration rates in the EU; in Greece, almost half of residents cannot afford a week’s holiday to their own islands; and Spain’s youth unemployment stands at 24% despite a growing economy.
Root Causes in Economic Liberalisation
These nations are now more dependent than ever on foreign capital for survival. Albania’s capitalist shock-therapy in the early 1990s laid the groundwork for what was later rolled out across southern Europe. The mass privatisation and economic liberalisation prescribed by the International Monetary Fund were later administered again, with help from the EU and European Central Bank, to Nicosia, Athens, Madrid, Rome and Lisbon in the form of conditional bailouts. While the “Pigs” nations (Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain) now reign supreme according to technocratic indices, these reforms have made them less adept at delivering infrastructure like roads and hospitals, while deregulating housing markets for private capital inflow. Economies became more attractive to tourists with thousands to spend and investors with millions, but fail to develop goods and services local populations need.
EU Warning to Albania
The issue is not tourists themselves, who need a break from Europe’s doom and gloom, but private interests embedded deep in lives and European governments prioritising those interests over local freedom and agency. Earlier this week, MEPs warned Albania that if it does not “change course” over Kushner’s luxury resort plans, its EU accession will be at risk. As actions in defence of coastal communities go, this is a good start. But unless there are further such interventions, sunny holidays to southern peripheries will continue to be marked by anger and resentment.
