Europe has seen protests across places like Santorini and Barcelona all summer as residents have reached their limit with over-tourism.
In their second-quarter report, the European Travel Commission (ETC) confirmed that European tourism has increased past 2019 figures by about 12 percent. Places like Greece and Spain have seen 20.4 percent and 12.1 percent growths from 2019, respectively. Meanwhile, countries previously not as popular are now tourist hot spots like Serbia and Bulgaria, which have seen 40 percent and 29 percent growths from 2019, respectively.
Typically, an increase in tourism would mean increased investment in the city to improve the lives of the residents, but that has not been the case this year as inflation has taken hold in the tourism industry.
According to the ETC’s second-quarter statistics, industry professionals suggest the most significant risks heading into the rest of 2024 are the costs of accommodation and increasing costs of business.
These issues have been the catalysts for protests in Greece and Spain. Both countries have tried their best to mitigate the over-tourism crisis, with Barcelona increasing the tourist tax to four percent and the mayor of the Greek island of Santorini implementing a strategy to deal with the heavy influx of tourists.
Over-tourism protests in Greece and Spain
In Athens, anti-tourism sentiments have taken hold through graffiti and protests. In July, protests broke out in the capital city, with people screaming chants like, “They are taking our houses while they live in the Maldives.”
Residents have created graffiti to express their frustrations with over-tourism, creating messages like “Tourists go home” and “Tourists Enjoy Your Stay In The Cemetery of Europe.”
Greece’s residents are apprehensive about housing as more properties are bought and converted into AirBNBs, and new legislation now prevents properties bought through the Golden Visa program from being let out as short- term tourist rentals.
According to Bloomberg, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said he will restrict the number of cruise ships allowed to dock at the Greek islands.
Protests have broken out like wildfire across Spain in cities like Barcelona and Málaga. Residents have taken to the streets chanting, “Go home.” The general sentiment in Spain has been increased concern over the cost of living and the lack of affordable housing.
In Barcelona, more than 3,000 people took to the streets with water guns, shooting tourists as they passed by. The protests expressed the city’s anger at the pressure tourism places on the residents, as hotel construction and living costs have increased.
In Mallorca, 300 locals protested at the beach at Calo del Moro with signs that read, “Beware of locals, we are angry.” The Mallorcans are tired of the overcrowding at their beaches and towns.
Residents of Málaga took to the streets, placing stickers all over buildings in the city center telling tourists to go back to where they came from and lamenting how the city center used to be before the tourists arrived.