Spaniards wield water pistols against tourism amid housing crisis
The friendly faces of neighbours in his block of flats have been replaced by a non-stop flow of hard-partying foreigners, and his teacher's salary cannot keep pace with the rising rent.
'It is tough for me to imagine what to do next,' he said in the living room of his two-bedroom apartment. 'If I leave, will I be contributing to Barcelona losing its essence that comes from its locals? But there comes a time when I'm fed up.'
Escorsa, 33, is just one of many residents who believe tourism has gone too far in the city famed for Antoni Gaudí's La Sagrada Familia basilica and the Las Ramblas promenade, running roughshod over communities and exacerbating a housing crisis.
It's not just a Spanish problem. Cities across the world are struggling with how to cope with overtourism and a boom in short-term rental platforms, like Airbnb, but perhaps nowhere has surging discontent been so evident as in Barcelona, where protesters plan to take to the streets on Sunday.
Similar demonstrations are slated in several other Spanish cities, including on the Balearic Islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, as well as in the Italian postcard city of Venice, Portugal's capital Lisbon and other cities across southern Europe – marking the first time a protest against tourism has been coordinated across the region.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Indonesia's Bali named world's second most crowded island as overtourism gripes rise
Indonesia 's Bali is now officially the second most crowded island in the world after neighbouring Java, as residents feel squeezed out by the influx of tourists and even their compatriots in their backyard. Advertisement Measuring 5,780 sq km (2,230 square miles) in size, Bali is home to 731 people per sq km, excluding tourists, according to national newspaper Kompas citing data from online market researcher Visual Capitalist. More than 60,000 daily visitors arrive on the island with a population of 4.2 million on average. Last year, Indonesia's most visited island welcomed over 6.3 million foreigners. Bali was also named the world's most beautiful island in 2025 in a study by travel agency Travelbag, Tempo news magazine reported. While this popularity is a boon for businesses – over half of Bali's economy relies on tourists, according to The Jakarta Post newspaper – it is proving a bane for locals, who feel that their quality of life is being adversely affected by overtourism Advertisement Denpasar native Wahyuni said he felt suffocated in his hometown. 'The population density in Bali is a big challenge for me as a villager wanting to feel comfortable in my own environment,' the 41-year-old said on Friday, as quoted by Kompas.
South China Morning Post
07-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Sustainable tourism: redefining luxury and responsibility
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] As travel rebounds post-pandemic, sustainable tourism is reshaping the industry worldwide. Sustainable Travel Report 2024 reveals that 75 per cent of global travellers aim to travel more sustainably in the next year, challenging destinations, industries, and policymakers to redefine tourism for both enrichment and sustainability. Having dedicated over ten years to sustainable tourism research, Professor Lisa Wan, Associate Professor at the School of Hotel and Tourism Management of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, is leading this transformative shift in the region. Play Understanding the heart of sustainable tourism At its core, sustainable tourism seeks to minimise negative environmental impacts while fostering economic growth and cultural exchange. This balance becomes crucial as the consequences of unsustainable tourism grow more evident with the post-COVID tourism surge worldwide. Professor Wan highlights how overtourism has strained local resources and infrastructure, exacerbating issues like waste and environmental degradation. Solutions, she says, lie in encouraging more responsible tourist behaviour and redefining destinations not as transient playgrounds but as interconnected, shared spaces.
South China Morning Post
24-06-2025
- South China Morning Post
How tourists are crushing hotspots in Europe, world's most visited region
Suitcases rattle against cobblestones. Selfie-snappers jostle for the same shot. Ice cream shops are everywhere. Europe has been called the world's museum, but its record numbers of visitors have also made it ground zero for concerns about overtourism. In 2024, 747 million international travellers visited the continent, far outnumbering any other region in the world, according to the United Nations' World Tourism Barometer. Southern and western Europe welcomed more than 70 per cent of them. As the growing tide of travellers strains housing, water and the most Instagrammable hotspots in the region, protests and measures to lessen the effects of overtourism have proliferated. Among the factors driving the record numbers are cheap flights, social media, the ease of travel planning using artificial intelligence , and what UN tourism officials call a strong economic outlook for many rich countries that send tourists despite some geopolitical and economic tensions. An activist holds a banner that reads 'stop cruises' as part of a march to demand measures against mass tourism in Mallorca, Spain, on June 15, 2025. Photo: EPA-EFE Citizens of countries such as the United States, Japan, China and the United Kingdom generate the most international trips, especially to popular destinations such as Barcelona in Spain and Venice in Italy.
