Protests in Spain: 'Tourists, go home'

Thousands have protested against mass tourism and its consequences in Barcelona, Spain's most-visited city. Around 2,800 demonstrators recently marched through the Catalan regional capital under the slogan "Enough! Let's set limits to tourism." The participants chanted slogans such as "Tourists, go home; you are not welcome."

Local anger is rising. They are demanding restrictions on the tourism industry, which has caused a rise in real estate prices, environmental pollution, traffic congestion, general overcrowding and a water shortage. The healthcare system is also overloaded due to the growing number of visitors.

Barcelona is more popular than ever. As more and more apartments have been converted into vacation homes, rents have risen by 68% over the past decade, according to the dpa agency.

Barcelona has announced measures to combat the housing shortage. A few weeks ago, the city council announced that it would no longer allow vacation apartments for tourists from 2028. Instead, the more than 10,000 vacation apartments will be made available to permanent tenants once more. However, landlords are threatening to legally challenge the measure.

Dissatisfaction with mass tourism is not only widespread in Barcelona but throughout the country. In recent weeks, Thousands of people have also demonstrated in Andalusia to express their discontent. In Malaga, around 25,000 people took to the streets, where the housing shortage is at the heart of the protests.

With more than 12,000 legally registered vacation homes, Malaga is only just behind Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. In addition, many private accommodations for tourists in Málaga, as elsewhere, are allegedly operated illegally.

In Cadiz, also in Andalusia, hundreds of people gathered in the historic center to protest mass tourism. "The city has become an amusement park," a 26-year-old demonstrator complained in an interview with AFP. Numerous cruise ships dock in the port city every year.

In Mallorca, anger was also directed at drunkards and partygoers. Behind a banner with the slogan "Mallorca is not for sale," thousands of families, students and seniors marched through the streets.

According to the Spanish Statistics Institute (INE), more than 85 million tourists from abroad came to Spain last year, more than ever before. Experts expect even more international guests this year, so the protests are certain to continue.