Thousands Protest Overtourism Across Southern Europe Cities

Thousands of protesters across southern Europe, including cities in Spain, Italy, and Portugal, have rallied against overtourism, highlighting its negative effects such as soaring housing prices, environmental degradation, and disruption of local communities. Demonstrations in cities like Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Genoa featured symbolic protests such as water pistol fights and dragging cardboard cruise ships through narrow streets, emphasizing the call for a new tourism model that benefits residents rather than just tourists and speculators. Activists stress that tourists themselves are not the enemy, but rather those who profit from the exploitation of housing and workers amid the 'touristification' of cities. Barcelona has responded with policies such as banning apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 in efforts to improve livability. In the Canary Islands, local governments are adopting innovative measures including tourist quotas and proposed tourism taxes to mitigate overtourism's adverse impacts and preserve local environments and communities. These coordinated actions reflect a growing movement to rethink and reform tourism practices across southern Europe to balance economic benefits with residents' quality of life.