On Sunday, 15 June, thousands of people across cities in southern Europe protested against the negative impacts of mass tourism. The demonstrations were peaceful. The main demonstration took place in Barcelona, where protesters carried banners with messages like “Your holidays, my misery” and “Mass tourism kills the city”. Barcelona, with a population of 1.6 million, received 26 million tourists in 2023.
A spontaneous strike to protest overtourism shut down Louvre, the world’ s most visited museum on Monday after workers refused to take up their posts in frustration with what they described as “untenable working conditions and chronic overtourism. The Louvre, France’s greatest cultural treasure and home to Leonardo de Vinci’s 16th century painting Mona Lisa, welcomed 8.7 million visitors in 2024, more than double what its infrastructure was designed to accommodate.
Organised under the banner of the 𝐒𝐄𝐓 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 (𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐧 𝐄𝐮𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐀𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐦) groups from Spain, Portugal, and Italy came together to raise concerns about rising housing prices and the displacement of residents due to unchecked tourism growth. Demonstrators used water pistols, released coloured smoke, and placed stickers on shops and hotels reading “Neighbourhood self-defence, tourist go home.”
In response to the rising discontent, Barcelona’s city government has announced a plan to ban tourist apartment rentals by 2028 to ease pressure on residents.
Similar protests were held in other Spanish cities including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian, and Granada, and across Italian cities – Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan, and Venice.
The protests reflect a deeper tension between economic dependence on tourism and the sustainability of urban life in Southern European cities. While tourism drives significant revenue and employment, unchecked growth is increasingly seen as a threat to social cohesion, housing equity, and local identity.
Despite the protests, tourism spending in Europe is projected to rise by 11% in 2025, reaching $838 billion, with Spain and France expected to see record visitor numbers.
Europe’s fascination as well as exhaustion with travellers is likely to continue. While anti-tourism protest are new, other threats like crime, pickpocketing etc have not gone away. Experts recommend expat tourists visiting less crowded stations, supporting local businesses rather than large hotel chains, respecting local customs and traditions, keeping noise levels low, being appropriately dressed and well-behaved, and staying alert to the surroundings and informed about any planned protests or risks across the city. Would you like to add more?
𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐫: This article has references to open sources, including France 24 and Reuters.