Thousands of people marched through multiple cities in southern Europe on Sunday to protest against overtourism.
In Barcelona, the epicentre of the demonstrations, some participants sprayed shop windows with water pistols and released smoke.
The protests were coordinated by the alliance “Southern Europe against Overtourism,” with support from groups in Portugal and Italy.
Protesters claim that unregulated tourism is pushing up housing costs and displacing residents from their communities.
According to the Guardia Urbana, only 600 people took part in the Barcelona protest. Other Spanish cities included Granada, Palma, and Ibiza, Sky News reports.
Similar protests also took place in Lisbon, as well as in several Italian cities such as Venice, Genoa, Palermo, Milan, and Naples, according to statements from various organising groups.
The latest barometer from the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (CIS), published in May, shows that housing is currently the top concern for citizens nationwide.
Around 120 groups, including the 'Sindicat de Llogateres' and Zeroport, which opposes the recently approved expansion of El Prat airport, participated in the march.
Representatives from Zeroport warn that if the project goes ahead, the airport could see an additional 15 million passengers, 10 million of whom would be tourists.
Organisers have once again condemned the lack of political action in response to overtourism. They point out that none of the 13 proposals submitted to the Barcelona City Council following last July’s demonstration have been implemented; in fact, they say the situation has worsened, Euro News reports.
In addition, Jaime Rodriguez de Santiago, Airbnb's general director for Spain and Portugal, stated that “a lot of our politicians have found an easy scapegoat to blame for the inefficiencies of their policies in terms of housing and tourism over the last 10, 15, 20 years.
“If you look at the over-tourism problem in Spain, it has been brewing for decades, and probably since the 60s,” he added.
Spain, with a population of roughly 48 million, welcomed a record 94 million international tourists in 2024, maintaining its position as the world's second most visited country, just behind France.
Alongside the limited supply of public housing, far below the European average, the increasing number of unlicensed tourist rentals has also driven housing prices to record highs.
Following similar demonstrations in the Canary Islands earlier this year, the Balearic Islands have now joined the growing wave of protests against mass tourism.
Tourism accounts for over 40% of the economy in the Mediterranean islands, according to various economic reports. However, it also plays a major role in the degradation of natural environments and in driving up the cost of living for local residents.