3 days ago
Hospitality Worker in Spain Issues Viral Anti-Tourist PSA: 'A Nightmare'
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A British hospitality worker in Spain has revealed how daily life has turned into a "nightmare" in their community due to unchecked tourism.
The 23-year-old man described growing up in a small seaside town in the south of the European country, where visitors arrived briefly in summer, then left residents to their routines.
Today, that rhythm has gone.
Housing Fears
"Now, it's just floods of tourists all year round no matter the season," the man vented on Reddit as user Thinkshespecial.
The original poster (OP) described how the town's narrow sidewalks are regularly clogged by slow-moving tourist groups and how housing has become increasingly inaccessible.
"Rent is insane because most properties are now holiday rentals," the OP pointed out, adding that he fears losing his apartment to Airbnb after a two-year search to find it.
File image: Tourists walk around a European town.
File image: Tourists walk around a European town.
Peter Adams/iStock/Getty Images Plus
Working in hospitality, user Thinkshespecial claimed that guests often treat staff members poorly, ignore their children and act entitled about late-night service.
"They get pissy when it's 2 a.m. and you're telling them they need to leave," he said.
"I also have a family that I want to go home to."
Though he expressed sympathy for people wanting a break, the post ended with a plea for basic respect.
"I love traveling," the OP wrote, "but... is common decency just not a thing anymore?"
'Lowkey insane'
In a message to Newsweek via Reddit, the hospitality worker noted that, "Spain is a social country that's number-one pass time is to go out for meals or drinks, so the idea that my place of work is open because of tourists is lowkey insane since a good 80% of our clientele are locals from the area."
The man emphasized that he was in no way saying people should not take holidays, or go on vacations, "but there's a huge difference between going on holiday and destroying a place just because you don't live there and feel like you can.
"This is obviously not aimed at all tourists, plenty are great people, but the post was a vent about feeling overwhelmed and pushed out by tourists, which is a sentiment most locals share," the OP told Newsweek.
Global Workers Raise Similar Issues
The worker's frustrations were felt by commentators around the world, amid more than 700 comments on Reddit within four days online.
An individual on the Virgin Islands recalled, "They'd come to the beach all day. Then, when they'd leave, they'd say, 'We love this island! We love your beautiful beaches! How does it feel to live in paradise?!' Meanwhile, leaving nothing but trash in their wake."
Another person from Greece wrote, "We get flooded with 30 million tourists a year and most of them throw garbage and are just completely rude."
A sympathizer in Japan added, "I get it, tourism boosts the economy and brings in money, but for who? Not us working at the bottom for sure."
Airbnb culture also came under criticism.
"The amount of people in the comments who don't see the problem with Airbnb culture is staggering," one critic lamented.
"OP, I don't blame you at all, I'm sorry your hometown was ruined."
'Not welcome here'
Beyond Reddit, frustrations with tourist behavior have surfaced in cities around the globe.
In Asheville, North Carolina, a woman was wrongly accused of being a tourist after another resident of the area left a note on her car saying, "Tourists are ruining Asheville. You are not welcome here! Go home," as Newsweek covered.
In Venice, Italy, a visitor staying in an Airbnb was startled to discover that their bedroom window opened directly into another room, Newsweek reported, prompting questions from others online.
New All-Time High
According to a report by the World Travel & Tourism Council, "by 2025 the travel and tourism sector in Spain could reach a new all-time high, with an estimated contribution of €260.5 billion [$304.3 billion] to [gross domestic product], equivalent to almost 16% of the national economy."
The report went on: "By 2025, spending by international tourists is expected to reach €113.2 billion [$132.2 billion], with a year-on-year growth of 5.7%, while domestic spending could reach €84.9 billion [$99.1 billion], 2.4% more than the previous year."
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