Tourism took a massive hit during Covid, but it’s now seen a massive revival. However, the influx of newer, cheaper package tours have increased tourism at Europe’s major tourism spots.
In response this summer has been marked by protests against tourists throughout Europe, most notably in Spain.
The World Travel and Tourism Council is predicting a record-breaking year for tourism in 2024; in Spain alone, which last year welcomed a record 85.1 million international visitors (up 19% on the previous year), even more visitors are expected through 2024.
Many of the residents in these well visited places simply want the tourist to respect their place. Visitors interested in culture rather than just sitting on the beach and drinking copious amounts of beer. Boozy Brits are not welcome.
Of course there’s always been badly behaved tourists, overcome by too much sun and cheap booze and fags compared to back home. Now, there’s just a lot more of them because that is the demographic that has been attracted by the cheap deals.
Recently a woman was filmed humping and grinding a statue of Bacchus in Florence. Other mistreatment of Italian art has not gone down well with locals.
In July in Barcelona locals took to spraying tourists with water pistols whilst chanting “tourists go home”. Thousands protested in Mallorca claiming that tourist industry only serves to create wealth for a few.
Meanwhile tourists can feel themselves to be targeted and made to feel unwelcome. Small things like being offered worse food and being charged extra.
The authorities have stepped in with some minor changes, such as keeping certain buses for locals only. Alcohol restrictions. Fees for day trippers to Venice, for example.
Susanna Polloni, from the Venice-based Solidarity Network for Housing group said;
mass tourism has already caused healthcare services to close, neighborhood shops to be replaced by souvenir shops and house prices to boom in Italy’s canal city. We are about to reach a point of no return...We think that our cry for help, from a city that is dying for the profit of a few, should reach the whole world.
What is at the root of the unrest is the growing issue of rising rents and home ownership forcing many to leave much beloved places. The blame is levelled at tourism.
Take Barcelona where rents have increased 68% over the past decade. A pattern mirrored over most tourist spots in Europe. This is the case especially in Southern Europe where wages are lower.
However, young residents of Amsterdam feel exactly the same. Amsterdam actually ran a Stay Away campaign in 2023 targeted at young men. Known as demarketing campaigns. Is this the future of tourism with places bidding to reduce footfall. Before we know it they’ll be shutting air routes, then local airports.
If you know you’re not welcome – are you still going to go? For the masses of the UK who just want all the sun and cheap drinks they can handle, the answer is yes. For the more up market tourist?
