Moment furious hotel worker fights back against crowd of anti-tourism protesters as they seal off his business in Barcelona and bombard it with water guns and smoke canisters
Thousands of people took to the streets across Spain to demonstrate against overtourism on Sunday, with protestors seen firing water pistols at shop windows, setting off coloured smoke and clashing with police.
Dramatic footage taken from outside a hotel called Generator shows an agitated worker as he confronted protesters saying he was 'only working' after furious activists tried to cordon off the building with tape.
In the clip, the unnamed worker walks out of the hotel and cuts the tape off with a pair of scissors.
But protesters erupt in anger and start to boo and blow whistles at the man while they quickly tape up the entrance of the hotel again and push him inside.
In a separate video, the employee is seen spitting at the swarms of protesters, while another recording shows him taking a water pistol off a demonstrator to spray water on them.
MailOnline has approached the hotel for comment.
Authorities in the north eastern Spanish city said around 600 people joined the demonstration over the weekend.
The employee is seen spitting at the swarms of protesters and firing a water gun at them
Barcelona city of 1.6 million, drew 26 million tourists last year.
There were similar demonstrations in other parts of Spain including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian and Granada.
Thousands marching were heard telling Brits to 'go home' as they banged drums and chanted slogans at stunned tourists as they enjoyed their evening meals.
The protests were organised by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification (SET), and are supported by local activist groups.
Many locals living in tourist hotspots in Spain believe the industry's model has become too excessive.
They say the numbers of visitors continue to increase year by year, creating an increasing demand on local resources.
They also complain that the overwhelming amount of tourist activity is causing environmental pollution, particularly in Tenerife, where natural landscapes are not being properly protected by local authorities, while a surge in pleasure boats and sewage waste are polluting the marine environment, they claim.
More importantly, the explosion of Airbnb-style properties has seen property prices surge over the past five to 10 years.
In holiday hotspots, landlords are choosing to rent to tourists instead of selling or renting to local families.
A
This is stripping housing supply and making the available stock far more expensive and out of reach for a growing number of locals.
The protesters marched for over a kilometre before gathering in Plaza de Reina near to the seafront.
A series of activists gave speeches demanding a 'drastic' change in laws regarding the tourism industry - including banning Airbnb style properties from the island.
Dozens of officers from the armed National Police force were seen escorting the protesters throughout the march, which ended without incident.
In Ibiza, another popular Spanish island for British holidaymakers, similar protests took place demanding reductions to tourism.
Around 1,000 protesters took part in the march organised by major anti-tourism platform Canviem el Rumb, which has been carrying out demonstrations in the Spanish holiday hotspot over the last year.
Security was stepped up to protect tourists from the demonstrators, who left Portal de Ses Taules in the town centre at around 6pm and ended at Plaza de sa Graduada, in front of the courts at 9pm.
The protests aim to keep pressure on governments to address the problems generated by tourism, including rising rents, housing shortages and environmental damage.
Activists believe the current tourism model is 'unsustainable' and pushing the islands toward collapse.
They want to limit the number of tourists visiting the islands, ban new hotel construction and introduce a tougher tourist tax, among other measures.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Maya Jama shares slew of loved-up snaps with footballer boyfriend Ruben Dias as she enjoys 'work and play' getaway
Maya Jama has shared some loved-up snaps with footballer boyfriend Ruben Dias as she continues to enjoy balancing 'work and play'. The Love Island host, 30, found the time to post on Instagram between her busy schedule as she spends time between Mallorca and London. She posted a carousel dump from the last week which involved behind-the-scenes of filming and enjoying a holiday with the Man City player and their pals. In a post, she told fans: 'Work & play balancing [sparkle emoji].' In the slew of snaps, Maya looked incredible in a body-hugging dress, where she stood outside of the Love Island villa. She was later seen dancing away with her boyfriend as they watched the sunset on a boat trip together. The new couple cuddled and posed for a selfie where they looked happier than ever. When she wasn't booked and busy filming, the TV star enjoyed relaxing in the pool, sharing images of her in the water. She also switched off with some yoga in the mornings, with a stunning sea view from her room. Maya made sure to include some sexy bikini pics too, showing off her incredible curves. The couple recently enjoyed a holiday to Ibiza where they packed on the PDA. The presenter captioned the post: 'La isla de la magia' which translates to 'The Magic Island' and smitten Ruben quickly commented with a love heart emoji. Maya has been dating Ruben for several months and recently confirmed their romance on social media. The pair have appeared to have gone from strength to strength with the sportsman flying out to Spain to support Maya while she is filming Love Island. As she shared an album of fun snaps soaking up the sun, Ruben also shared some moments with Maya. Alongside the post Ruben confirmed his love for the star and penned: 'Sun, love, crocodiles, some fits and one advice.' And Maya appeared to approve of his sweet declaration as she commented with a love heart and fire emoji. The couple are believed to have met after the stunner caught the Portuguese player's eye when they met at the European Music Awards (EMAs) in November. Their romance was finally confirmed after they were seen packing on the PDA at KSI's Baller League event in April.
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
European holiday hotspot loved by Brits issues strict rules for tourists - with huge fines if you break them
The Spanish city of Malaga is taking a firm stance on unruly behaviour from tourists this summer by issuing a 10-point guidance plan that encourages appropriate dress, the respecting of local customs and keeping the noise down after hours. The Costa del Sol destination, known for its links to Picasso, beautiful old town and sweeping beaches, has put its Improve your Stay campaign front and centre across the city. The straight-talking ads are aimed at curbing behaviour that has angered locals in recent years, especially during the peak tourist season. Signage across the city spells out expectations, with posters - on buses and billboards, written in English and directly addressing antics often attributed to British holidaymakers. There's also a social media campaign reminding tourists they must follow municipal bylaws or face fines of up to €750 (£655) for violations. In Malaga's city centre, residents have objected to foreigners walking around the city wearing only bikinis or shorts. One of the Improve your Stay city hall signs reads: 'Dress completely. Both on the street and in public places always wear an upper garment out of respect and hygiene.' Billboard posters ask visitors to wear full clothes while in town - demanding they 'dress properly', 'dress appropriately' and 'dress completely'. The campaign, promoted by Malaga's tourism department, highlights four major issues: inappropriate attire, littering, excessive noise, and reckless e-scooter use. Another sign focuses on noise pollution, urging visitors to 'respect the sleeping hours' of residents, including the elderly, students, and essential workers. The sign advises against shouting, singing loudly, or playing music at high volumes in public areas, adding: 'Don't be conspicuous.' Littering is another sore point for locals, with signs asking tourists to 'Keep the city clean' by using rubbish bins and taking care of historical monuments, gardens, and public seating. Meanwhile, scooter riders are reminded that 'pavements are for pedestrians. If you use scooters or bicycles, do so in the legally authorised areas, in compliance with municipal ordinances.' The measure is an attempt to combat visitors who ride indiscriminately in cycle lanes, invade pedestrian areas and have been involved in more than one serious incident. With the summer season now in full swing, overtourism has become a major issue in many European resorts and cities. Italy's Dolomites were compared to Disneyland last week by fed-up locals, as the beauty spot became overloaded by swarms of selfie-snapping tourists and so-called influencers. Images and videos shared on social media shared by furious residents showed crowds of holidaymakers clogging up a cable car station in the Seceda area of the Alpine mountain range, which has become increasingly popular thanks to social media. Another sign focuses on noise pollution, urging visitors to 'respect the sleeping hours' of residents, including the elderly, students, and essential workers Littering is another sore point for locals, with signs asking tourists to 'Keep the city clean' One particular video shows a lengthy queue of visitors at the station over-spilling onto a nearby cafe, while some tourists are seen blocking a staircase as they wait in line. Another clip showed how a hiking trail came to a standstill as it became overwhelmed by tourists trying to reach the cable car. The video, which was shared on an Instagram page, was captioned: 'Something incredible even just to be told. 'Hours in line waiting for your turn to go up the Seceda to admire the meadows, ridges, the most beautiful mountains of the Alto Adige, being careful not to step on each other's feet, not to clash, to take the selfie as 'freely' possible in the presence of other tourists.' Such is the surge in visitors that the operator of the cable car that takes hikers up to the summit of the Seceda mountain has put in a request to triple the capacity of the chairlift, Italian news outlet Corriere della Sera reports. But recent scenes of overcrowding at the UNESCO World Heritage Site has sparked anger among locals and environmentalists who say large crowds could put wildlife at risk.
Telegraph
6 hours ago
- Telegraph
Russian tourists flock back to Europe
Russian tourists are returning to Europe in growing numbers, despite the war in Ukraine, with France, Italy and Spain their favoured holiday destinations. The three travel hotspots are all Nato and EU members and have imposed sanctions on Moscow. Hotel stays by Russians in Italy and France surged by more than 19 per cent in the past year, which Ukrainian diplomats branded 'disturbing' and a security risk. But France, which spearheads the 'coalition of the willing' nations supporting Ukraine with Britain, defends keeping borders open to rich Russian tourists, as does Italy. The trend was revealed by Telegraph analysis of data on hotel room stays and rentals on websites such as and Airbnb, and of visas issued to the EU's Schengen free-movement zone. Vsevolod Chentsov, Ukraine's ambassador to the EU, warned that ignoring the returning Russians would be 'short-sighted' and dangerous. He told the Telegraph: 'In the fourth year of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, it is extremely surprising to see statistics showing an increase in the number of visas issued to Russian citizens and a growth in tourist traffic from Russia to EU countries. 'We know that Russian society overwhelmingly supports the war. Moreover, it prefers to think that Russia is at war with the West and not with Ukraine, where the Russian army commits war crimes on massive scale.' He added: 'With increasing number of Russia's cyberattacks against EU member states, acts of sabotage and all sort of hybrid activities aimed at undermining European democracies, it is disturbing that Russian citizens can easily enjoy the benefits of travelling to Europe. 'Continuing to ignore this reality is short-sighted. It's a matter of European security.' Fires in warehouses known to be part of logistical supply chains have taken place across Europe, including in Britain, while there have also been reports of sabotaged train tracks. In the past, Russian spies posing as diplomats would be linked to these incidents, but since the 2018 poisoning of the Skripals, Moscow is known to also deploy agents on tourist visas. Stop EU visas for Russians Sir William Browder is an American-born English financier turned anti-Putin activist and campaigner. He urged France, Italy and Spain to stop issuing visas to Russians. 'Unless the Russians can demonstrate in a visa interview that they're opposed to the Putin regime, they shouldn't be allowed to come to Europe,' he said. European capitals have hit the Kremlin with waves of sanctions since Putin launched his illegal invasion in 2022. Both Britain and the EU closed their airspace to Russian airlines, triggering a drop in tourist numbers. There are still dozens of routes to Europe through Turkey, Georgia, Serbia and other countries. In order to get to Rome, for example, a Russian tourist would have to stop over in Turkey or the UAE and switch flights. The additional costs put the trip out of the reach of most ordinary Russians, but those that do make it to Europe also face difficulties because of the sanctions, which means their bank cards don't work. However, Istanbul's Ataturk airport is brimming with currency exchanges where Russians can swap roubles for euros to sustain their visits to Europe. 'There are many Russians who support the war, and particularly the Russians who have money,' Sir William said. 'What we absolutely don't want to do is allow these Russians to enjoy the privileges and resources of Europe, while at the same time they're supporting Putin's war efforts.' 'Europe should be open for people in the Russian opposition who are being persecuted, but no visa should be issued to Russian oligarchs or mini-garchs and others who support Putin, and I think we should err on the side of non visa issuance in that respect.' He said refusing visas would put pressure on Putin's regime and lessen the security risk posed by Russia's hybrid war against the West. Sanctions undermined Sir William said EU governments had to be consistent because if one country grants a Schengen visa, the supposed tourist can travel anywhere in the passport-free zone. Western governments have been reluctant to issue outright travel bans, except in the case of sanctioned individuals such as Putin's cronies and apparatchiks. In contrast, the Baltic nations and pro-Ukraine countries bordering Ukraine and Russia stopped issuing tourist visas to Russia or heavily restricted their numbers. Jan Lipavsky, foreign minister of the Czech Republic, accused those welcoming Russian holidaymakers of undermining the EU's sanctions against Moscow in return for wealthy tourists' cash. He told The Telegraph, 'It is deeply troubling to see some EU countries returning to business as usual with Russian tourists while Ukraine continues to suffer under brutal aggression. 'Czechia has taken a principled stance – we do not process any tourist visa applications and we believe this should be the standard across the European Union.' Mr Lipavsky said the numbers of tourists coming to the EU last year was 'totally excessive' and raised serious concerns 'not only from a security standpoint, but also from a moral one'. He said, 'At such volumes, we cannot rule out the possibility that individuals complicit in war crimes are among those vacationing in our resorts. That is unacceptable.' He added, 'I also see that some countries have a self-interested motive – they want the income from Russian tourism. It's not just about visa fees; it's about money spent on hotels, shopping, tickets and so on. Russians are known to spend a lot. 'This undermines the credibility of our sanctions regime and sends a confusing message about our values.' Lifeline for dissidents Andrei Soldatov is a senior fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis think tank and a Russian investigative journalist specialising in the activities of the Kremlin's secret services. He said the visas were valuable for dissidents and families that wanted to visit them abroad. He said, 'it is a problem which doesn't have a simple solution. These are also the countries which help people with anti-Kremlin views move out. 'To make it safe for these people one needs to hide their applications in a stream of other applications. One cannot really expect a Russian dissident to come to a foreign embassy for a 'dissident visa', given the high level of repression in the country.' Popular locations Across the EU, visitor numbers are just a tenth of what they were in 2019, before the pandemic and the invasion, but this varies substantially across the bloc. In 2024, just six EU countries saw an increase in guest nights booked by Russians via websites such as Airbnb, according to figures from Eurostat. Italy saw the largest increase of 18.9 per cent, with 321,678 guest nights across the year, the highest in Europe. France remains the third most popular location for Russian tourists with 203,072 guest nights per year, which is an increase of 7.8 per cent - the fourth highest spike in Europe. Spain is second at 259,068 guest nights, down 3.6 per cent from the previous year, according to the figures obtained from the EU's statistics agency. There was a rise of 13 per cent in the number of nights booked by Russians in Hungary, which has a government that is notoriously soft on Putin. The UK, whose data differs slightly from the EU's, would rank seventh on the list for Russia visitors after Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Greece and Cyprus. Unlike France and Italy, Britain saw its visitor numbers fall by around 1.3 per cent year-on-year, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. Other statistics, which look at nights across hotels rather than Airbnb-style websites, suggest that France is hosting 27 per cent of the level it was in 2019, compared to just 9.8 per cent in the United Kingdom. The UK has always required Russian tourists to apply for visas, including when it was part of the EU. It never joined Schengen. Schengen members also require that Russians obtain visas. There was an agreement, which made it faster and cheaper to obtain those tourist visas to enter the EU but it was suspended after Putin invaded Ukraine. Analysis of Schengen area visas also showed that Italy and France were leading the tourism rapprochement with Russia. Italy issued 152,254 Schengen area visas at its two Russian consulates last year, which was almost 19,000 more than in 2023. France issued a total of 123, 890, according to European Commission figures, 25,000 more than the year before. Spain issued 111,527, an increase of 15,000. Figures first reported by the EU Observer website showed a rebound in Schengen visas for Russians with 552,630 issued in total last year, an increase of nine per cent. Greece issued 59,703 visas and Hungary 23,382. Rome and Paris unrepentant 'Italy continues to regularly issue visas to Russian tourists who meet our requirements,' A spokesman for Antonio Tajani, the Italian minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister, said. 'Our opposition is to the Russian army's military operations in Ukraine, not to the Russian people.' The Elysée was presented with the statistics but did not respond to requests for comment. France has previously defended issuing visas to Russians. 'People-to-people relations and cultural ties can play a positive role in fostering mutual understanding and dialogue between populations,' the French foreign affairs ministry told EU Observer. 'We work hard at maintaining a differentiation between the regime responsible for the war and the population, its civil society, and the opposition,' it said. 'It is essential to maintain this window, to enable Russian society to get access to a plurality of reliable sources of information.' The British and Spanish government were asked for comment. The European Commission said they could not comment, despite being given 72 hours notice, because it was summer. Eurostat, the EU's statistics body, has collected data on the number of guest nights spent in 'collaborative economy platforms', which includes sites such as Airbnb and Expedia since 2018. The UK's Office for National Statistics has collected similar data since mid-2023, meaning pre-invasion figures are not available and there might be minor methodological differences between the two bodies. Data on broader hotel stays across Europe have not been updated for the entirety of Europe in 2024.
