I delve behind the popular press reports and asks why Spanish people are protesting against tourism, what’s at the heart of the protests, are tourists in danger, what’s good and bad about tourism, and what are the attempted solutions?

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Why are Spanish people protesting about tourism?
Do they hate tourists?
What are the protests really all about?
What’s good and bad about tourism?
What is Spain doing about the problems?

Stick around and you’ll find out.
Let’s dive straight in and ask the important questions. 

What’s happening? 

This year there have been lots of anti-tourism protests in Spain, and all across Europe too. And there are more planned in the future.

Whereabouts?

Well, they’ve been all across Spain, from San Sabastian in the north, through Barcelona and Alicante to Malaga in the south, and in the tourist hotspots of the Canary Islands and the Balearics. There’s another planned in Seville this month.

What’s it all about? Why do they hate tourists so much?

It’s not the tourists themselves so much, although in Barcelona they were squirted with water pistols during the protests, it’s the problems that over-tourism is creating that Spanish people are concerned about.

But doesn’t tourism bring mountains of cash to Spain?

It does, and the numbers are getting bigger all the time. It’s estimated that by 2040, Spain will overtake France as the most visited country in the world, there could be as many as 115 million tourists per year by then.

And that’s great for the economy, isn’t it?

It is, it’s been largely responsible for Spain’s economic recovery since the pandemic. 13% of Spain’s GDP is from tourism, and on the Canary Islands for example the figure is more like 35% of GDP. The tourism industry employs many thousands of people, and it’s a major part of Europe’s economic activity, taking in hotels, restaurants, guides, goods and much more. 

That must add up to billions of Euros for Spain!

Yeah, hundreds of billions in fact, so a great deal of money is spent on improving the tourist hotspots and the cities which see the greatest influx of visitors. Parts of Malaga that used to be run down, for example, are now looking more affluent.

So what’s wrong with that? Why are they protesting?

Well, along with the wealth benefits that tourism brings, there are many problems it can cause. 

Like what?

Here’s a disadvantages list.

Number 1

Housing! Landlords know that they can make more money by renting off their properties by the day or the week. So there are now too many short term apartments, which is great for tourists, but awful for the locals who live and work in tourist areas. There just aren’t enough places for them to live, and the properties are becoming more and more expensive with the gentrification. Often they’re forced to live in crowded, shared accommodation.  Even essential workers like the police are doing that, or even living in their cars. The police in Mallorca are having difficulty in recruiting because of this.

Can’t people just live further away?
Not on the islands they can’t, and if they have to move far enough from the cities to afford the rent, there are higher transport costs. Tourism jobs are often long hours already with low pay, so even if they can afford the extra expenses, their working days become much longer. 

Number 2

Shops! What used to be areas of shops catering to the local community are becoming overrun with chain stores or outlets catering purely for tourists. Local shops like hardware stores are closing down or moving away, cafes are becoming more expensive restaurants, food and drink prices have increased, it’s all getting out of control.

Number 3

Loss of community! With more and more of the population being short term visitors and the previous long term population having to move out, the sense of community is disappearing. Places with their own character, their own sense of regional identity are becoming like theme parks. It’s no wonder the remaining locals are protesting.

Are any of the protests hostile, and should tourists be worried?
So far, apart from some banners saying Tourists Go Home, and the water pistol users disturbing tourists in restaurants, there’s not been any serious hostility. However, with tourist numbers increasing every year and nothing much to block the trend, it might not be too long before protesters start using different tactics and treating tourists as the enemy. There’s already some political bad feeling towards foreigners. The alleged loss of the national or regional identity of Spanish people is potentially going to fuel the fires of hatred. So we must at the very least show respect and support for the locals.

Number 4

Cruise liners! When these huge ships pull into harbours and marinas, thousands of visitors who’ve paid plenty to get free food and drink onboard spill out into the ports and block up the streets and shops for a few hours, often spending very little. It creates chaos, and it’s not only bad for the locals, it’s bad for the other tourists who are there to spend money. 

Number 5

Crime! Wherever you get crowds with money to spend, you’ll always get criminals intent on relieving people of their belongings. The more tourists, the more opportunity unfortunately.

Number 6

Traffic! While the infrastructure of roads and public transport has increased and improved no end, there’s only so much space on the roads. In areas like the Costa del Sol, the more tourists with hire cars in the summer months, the more the main towns and tourist friendly villages become clogged up, making it impossible to park and making workers late for work.

Number 7

The environment! Quite apart from the increase in traffic pumping out petrol fumes and polluting the seaside areas, the influx of more and more tourists in the natural parks and areas of beauty can damage the countryside and make it less peaceful and beautiful. Spain is a country with so many historical buildings and monuments too that people flock to see and walk all over them. 

Number 8

Water! Even in the short time I’ve lived here, the reservoirs in Andalucia have gone from having plenty of water to being lower than 10% of capacity. And it’s not only lack of rainfall that’s causing it. The more tourists there are are, the more hotels and swimming pools and baths and showers and drinking water are needed, and farmers need to grow more food for them, which requires more water on the land. Some crops need an enormous amount, even if they’re used to the dry climate.

But what about the massive floods recently?

Yes, but when that happens, it doesn’t re-stock the reservoirs very much. To do that, you need steady rainfall rather than a downpour, or the water just runs off into the sea. 

Are there any more negatives to tourism?

That’s all I can think of right now. So you’ve got all of those problems and local suffering, and you have to balance that up with the massive amount of money the industry generates. 

Can’t they spend that money on making sure the locals get what they need?

That would be wonderful, but it seems that the majority is funnelled back into tourism to generate more wealth. And that money only goes to a minority of locals who own the tourist shops and hotels and properties.

So what can be done?

Well, there are some solutions in place, but they’ve not yet stopped tourist numbers increasing. 

Like what?

Like tourist taxes, limiting or banning short term housing, putting more controls and regulations on rental properties, putting caps on rental prices, limiting tourist numbers in places like natural parks, creating more low rent housing, and limiting the number of cruise ships allowed to dock every day.

But it’s not working?

Not yet. Evidently they need to do more. The irony is there was a big drop off of tourism during the pandemic, which devastated some businesses in tourist areas and could have made a positive difference, but the result was that locals were reminded of what their area used to feel like, and the sense of community they used to have, so when the tourists returned in even greater numbers, it just highlighted and magnified the problems people were becoming aware of. 

Anything else you need to know?

I can’t think of anything, but what if I do?

Then you can ask in the comments.

And whatever you do, check out some of the other really popular articles on YouTooSpain, and I’ll see you there. 

Peace & Love!

Article by Skatz