Thus, about six hundred people took part in a rally in Barcelona. The protesters chanted: “Their greed is ruining us”, holding placards with inscriptions “Mass tourism is killing the city”. The demonstrators blamed tourists for rising housing prices, a shortage of rental apartments, pollution and pressure on infrastructure
Barcelona, with a population of 1.6 million, received 26 million tourists last year.
Protests with demands to reduce the tourist flow took place in other cities in southern Europe. In particular – in Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian, Granada and the island of Ibiza in Spain, as well as in Genoa, Palermo, Naples, Milan and Venice in Italy.
A protest organized in the Balearic Islands gathered about 8,000 disgruntled people. Demonstrators in Ibiza demanded the return of their “right to a decent life”, noting that during the drought season the authorities turn off all public fountains, but continue to fill the pools at luxury villas. At the same time, for the sake of foreigners, signposts on the island are translated into English, practically erasing local culture.
In Italy, protests broke out in Venice, Naples, Genoa, Palermo and Milan. At the same time, the action in Venice was more substantive – its participants opposed the construction of two new hotels for 1,500 people.
According to estimates of the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), in 2024 Italy became the second country in the EU after Spain, which received the largest number of tourists. At the same time, according to the National Tourism Agency (ENIT), the contribution of the tourism sector to the country’s GDP amounted to 10.8%
It is noted that in 2025, spending on international travel in Europe may grow by 11% – up to $838 billion (727 billion euros).
France and Spain are expected to receive a record number of tourists.
