Why these cities no longer want your vacation money

Activists across southern Europe took to the streets Sunday, spraying tourists with water pistols and wheeling suitcases to denounce mass tourism’s toll on housing, environment and local life.

The largest gathering occurred in Barcelona, where hundreds marched through luxury shopping districts, displaying banners that read “Tourists go home” and “Tourism is stealing from us,” as per the New York Post article.

The protests in Europe erupted across Barcelona, Lisbon, Genoa, Venice, and the Balearic Islands. The protests reflect escalating concerns about the declining quality of life, unaffordable housing, and ecological damage that organizers link directly to the unregulated growth of tourism.

“They come here to party, to rent places we can’t afford on our wages,” said Barcelona waiter Joan Mas. Protesters argue that tourism-driven gentrification is hollowing out communities for short-term profits, even though the industry contributes over 12% to Spain’s GDP.

Organizers stated their main purpose involves exposing the harmful effects of municipal strategies that favor visitor services over resident welfare.

In San Sebastián and Mallorca, locals cited youth displacement, luxury hotel conversions, and worker shortages as symptoms of a tourism model that drives up housing costs while undermining community life.

The Balearic Islands demonstrate tourism’s overwhelming impact, with three islands receiving more than 15 million international guests yearly while maintaining just over one million permanent inhabitants.

Pere Joan Femenia, spokesman for Less Tourism, More Life, which organized Palma protests, disputed tourism’s economic advantages: “This model of tourism doesn’t bring economic prosperity, but rather problems such as the housing crisis.”

Island authorities face staffing shortages for police, medical personnel, and teachers because tourism-driven housing costs prevent the recruitment of essential public workers. But the impact isn’t limited to housing or wages; environmental damage has become another growing concern.

Venice, which charges day visitors between €5 and €10, saw protesters condemn new hotel construction in formerly residential areas. Activists unfurled a banner spanning over 20 feet reading “STOP HOTEL = + CITTÀ” from boats, highlighting sites where public housing has become tourist rentals.

Genoa demonstrators, although experiencing lower tourism than Rome or Venice, pursued preventive action to avoid future overtourism by engaging early with local officials.

Ocean contamination from cruise industry operations creates major environmental challenges. Seven ships dock daily in the city, bringing roughly 18,000 passengers and 6,000 crew members. 

A 2016 University of Barcelona study found most cruise visitors spend approximately five hours ashore with average expenditures of €57, generating greater environmental costs than economic benefits. In Barcelona, cruises were responsible for 28.5% of the city's carcinogenic nitrogen oxide and 3.5% of its particle pollution.

While international arrivals in Europe rose nearly 5% in early 2025, cities like Barcelona, Santorini, and Ibiza have responded by banning short-term rentals, capping cruise ships, and increasing tourist taxes.

Some innocent tourists, like one South Korean visitor who was sprayed with water, found themselves as targets in these protests, prompting officials to caution that aggressive tactics risk undermining the movement. Spanish tourism officials denounced the water pistol tactics as ineffective, saying they inappropriately target individual travelers instead of addressing policy failures.

Also Read:

1. In Spain, short-term rentals surge despite bid to rein in overtourism
2.  Protesters against overtourism take to the streets of southern Europe