The August holiday peak is well past, but anger over overtourism in Spain is spilling over into the off-season as holidaymakers continue to seek winter sun.
On Sunday, local residents of the Basque city of San Sebastian plan to take to the streets under the banner: “We are in danger; outgrow tourism!”
And in November, anti-tourism demonstrators will gather in Seville.
Thousands showed up in the Canary Islands last Sunday, so the problem is clearly not going away.
This year appears to have been a turning point for attitudes towards tourism in Spain and many other parts of Europe, as the post-Covid-19 travel boom has seen the sector match pre-pandemic records and often exceeds.
Spain is expected to receive more than 90 million foreign visitors by the end of the year. The consultancy Braintrust estimates that arrivals will rise to 115 million by 2040, well ahead of current world leader France.
‘Tourists go home’
This year’s protests began in April in the Canary Islands and included a hunger strike by six protesters in Tenerife in an attempt to halt two major tourism projects on the island.
They continued in many of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, such as the Balearic Islands, the Mediterranean city of Alicante, cities on the south coast and Barcelona, where some protesters sprayed foreign visitors with water guns and shouted: “Tourists go home!” .
The grievances driving the upcoming protests are similar to those of the summer.
“Tourism, which is the golden goose for a few, is an economic model that suffocates the rest of us,” says Bizilagunekin (or “with the neighbors,” in Basque), the civic association organizing Sunday’s demonstration in the Basque Country. San Sebastian.
The protest is the culmination of a series of debates, lectures and other events in the city called “October against tourist construction”.
“What we have seen in the last eight to ten years is a huge acceleration of the process of ‘tourism’,” says Asier Basurto, member of the platform. “All the services of our city are entrusted to the tourism sector.”
He insists that the number of arrivals itself is not the problem, but that it is the way the city treats visitors and not residents.
Public spaces have been adapted for short visits and the tourism sector creates precarious jobs, he says.
Mr Basurto believes tourists are driving up rental prices, largely due to short-stay accommodation, pushing local residents further and further away from San Sebastian’s historic centre.
“We have had a way of life for generations – where people are connected and those who arrive are integrated,” he added.
“If we have a model where people just visit for five days and then leave, it becomes a soulless theme park, without culture, without community.”
The complaint about the impact of tourism on rental prices is a common theme and is contributing to a wider housing crisis across Spain. The country’s central bank has reported that almost half of families renting at market prices are at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
However, with tourism accounting for 13% of Spain’s GDP and directly supporting around three million jobs, its supporters insist the industry is essential to the economy and has boosted the country’s recovery in the wake of the pandemic.
They are particularly concerned about scenes such as those at Playa de las Américas in Tenerife on October 20, where a video showed two tourists sunbathing on the beach as protesters sang just meters away from them.
There have also been reports in the Spanish media of more hostile behavior, such as covering the locks of tourist apartments in Seville with feces.
Such incidents prompted David Morales, head of tourism for the conservative People’s Party (PP) in the Canary Islands, to insist on “the right of tourists to enjoy their holidays without being the target of interruptions or gestures or verbal attacks, and certainly not from physical attacks.” to attack”.
‘Tourism phobia’
As protests continue beyond the summer, there are particular concerns in destinations such as the Canary Islands, where the climate means they receive large numbers of visitors during the winter months.
The president of the Circle of Impresarios and Professionals in South Tenerife (CEST), Javier Cabrera, warned that “tourism phobia is being cultivated under an umbrella of legitimate grievances.”
An attempt has been made to defuse the backlash, with a series of measures being implemented.
Barcelona City Hall has announced that short-term tourist apartments will be banned from 2028.
Local authorities in Palma de Mallorca have placed a limit on the number of cruise ships that can dock in the port.
Tenerife has introduced a new limit on the number of visitors to some natural parks.
And in Seville, a new levy is planned for those entering the popular Plaza de España square.
Still, Asier Basurto is not convinced and says the protests must continue.
“Those who advocate tourism can no longer say that everything is rosy,” he said.
“Either we change this now, or it will be too late.”
