Spaniards demonstrate again against mass tourism
The anger on mass tourism drives many Spaniards onto the street. On Sunday, demonstrations against the social effects of the increasing crowds of sun -hungry tourists started again in numerous cities and holiday regions.
In Palma de Mallorca, thousands of people protested under the motto « for the right to a worthy life. Let us stop touristification ». In the Mediterranean metropolis Barcelona, around 800 people protested with the slogan « Tourism robs us of our bread, our roof and our future. Limited tourism now! ».
Overloaded infrastructure and water shortage
Also in Ibiza, the Canary Islands of Lanzarote and Tenerife as well as in holiday strongholders such as Valencia, Bilbao, Granada or San Sebastian protested thousands of people for « less tourism, more life ». According to the mass protests, a total of more than 140 citizens’ initiatives once again called nationwide to denounce the negative consequences of tourism for the population. They argue that he drives rents up, overloaded the urban infrastructure and leads to garbage problems and water shortages.
The participants of the demonstration against mass tourism demand measures that guarantee residents a decent life and access to living space. Photo: Clara Margais/dpa
In 2024, more than 90 million foreign visitors came to the country. Protesters are calling for a changeover to sustainable tourism models. The demands include the introduction of tourist upper limits in overcrowded areas, the increase in tourist taxes to finance local infrastructure as well as the regulation and limitation of short-term rentals. Spanish and foreign landlords often prefer the rental of tourists at higher prices, which has led to an apartment shortage through which many residents were displaced from their districts.
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« Access to affordable living space is one of the greatest social problems in Spain and leads to the impoverishment of more and more families. In addition to the lack of social housing, the reasons are primarily the explosion of tourist apartments, » said Fernando Fuentes, head of social affairs at the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, the Catholic news agency (KNA).
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This is also confirmed by the latest polls from the state research institute CIS. 28.4 percent of Spaniards consider the shortage of housing to be even more critical than unemployment or the political situation. According to a report by the organization for affordable living space « Provivienda », 5.5 million households are currently affected by the consequences of the housing shortage in Spain.
