Protests against mass tourism are starting up again just in time for the summer vacation season. They follow in the footsteps of large-scale anti-tourism demonstrations in vacation hot spots in Italy, Portugal and especially Spain in recent years.

The coalition of activists and campaigners that make up Sur de Europa contra la Turistizacion (Southern Europe against Touristification) have once again called for large-scale demonstrations on June 15 in Venice, Milan, Lisbon, San Sebastian, Valencia, Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, among other places.

Members of the group recently met for a conference in Barcelona to discuss overtourism, which according to the UN World Tourism Organization is usually defined as the point at which locals or visitors feel tourism has negatively impacted the quality of life in a region to an unacceptable degree.

That is the case for many people in Barcelona, where large-scale demonstrations with thousands of participants have taken place in recent years. Also in the mix are attention-grabbing tactics involving water guns.

In 2024, protesters in Barcelona doused unsuspecting tourists dining along the popular promenade of Las Ramblas in order to draw attention to the problem of overtourism. It worked — a media flurry followed, as did several other incidents involving water guns, which have become something of a symbol of the fight against overtourism in Barcelona. In April, for example, activists blocked a tour bus parked in front of the Sagrada Família — one of the city's top attractions — and soaked stunned tourists with water guns. Chants of "tourists go home," were heard in the air.

"The kind of tourism we have today in Barcelona is not compatible with the lives of the local population," Daniel Pardo, a member of the Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth (Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic), told DW. Pardo has been involved in organizing anti-tourism campaigns for years. He and others want to stop rampant tourism growth which they say has resulted in noisy streets, air pollution and overcrowding in their city. "The moment when it was still possible to find a balance came to an end a long time ago."

Pardo specifies that it's not only about protesting mass tourism, but rather about going against a "tourism-first culture" that prioritizes the tourism industry over the quality of life of many locals.

Job creation — but at what cost?

Around 30 million tourists visit Barcelona a year, a city that is home to around 1.7 million people. The majority came from Italy, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, followed by the United States. According to city officials, the tourism industry generates around 14% of the city's gross domestic product and supports 150,000 jobs.

"Yes, that's always used as an argument for why we shouldn't complain," said Pardo. "But we are still complaining!" Many jobs in tourism are rife with precarious labor conditions with wages that are below average. "Ultimately, dependence on tourism impoverishes the population."

The level of frustration is also high on the Spanish island of Mallorca. Just like in Barcelona, there will be a demonstration in the capital of Palma on June 15 under the motto: "For the right to a dignified life: Let's stop the touristification." Other popular vacation spots on the Balearic Islands, as well as in Andalusia, in the Basque Country and on the Canary Islands have also criticized what they see as a "tourism-first" mentality taking over their cities. Topping the list of complaints is the increasing number of short-term vacation rentals, which critics say are partly to blame for rising rents that push out locals.

Locals driven out

But the short-term rental market is only one aspect of how touristic areas are changing. In some Spanish vacation towns, traditional retail is also disappearing. It's becoming easier to find an ice cream parlor or souvenir store than say, a bakery or supermarket. As a result, locals feel alienated and are moving away.

"Tourism is driving us out of our homes, villages and neighbourhoods," Spanish group Menys Turisme, Mes Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) writes on their website in the call to protest on June 15.

In 2024, citizens around Spain also took to the streets to demonstrate against rampant tourism, yet despite the backlash — and the water gun splashes — tourists don't seem to be dissuaded from visiting. In fact, the country is predicting record numbers of tourists in 2025.

In 2024, almost 94 million international travelers came to the country, making it the world's second most popular tourist destination after France. According to a recent study by tourism lobby group Exceltur, the number of short-term rentals has jumped 25% in Spain over the last two years, despite the ongoing housing crisis.

The government has, however, made some recent attempts to mitigate overtourism. In recent months, there has been stricter regulation of vacation rentals. The central government in Madrid recently made it obligatory for short-term rental providers to register their properties in a newly created database in an effort to prevent illegal offers. And in mid-May, the Spanish Ministry of Consumer Protection ordered Airbnb to delete around 65,000 apartment listings that did not include the required registration numbers.

'We are reaching our limit'

Last June, Barcelona's city council announced it would abolish short-term vacation rentals by 2028, and that licenses will no longer be renewed after they expire. Yet, for better or worse, tourism is one of the main pillars of Barcelona's economy. The growth of the sector has played an important role in the economic revival of the city, say city officials.

However, Jordi Valls, the city official responsible for tourism, admits that tourism in Barcelona cannot continue to grow at the current pace. "We are reaching our limit," he said. 

Activist Daniel Pardo acknowledges that "at least no politician dares to openly call for further growth" of the city. But he pointed out that more concrete action needs to be taken to mitigate the problem and improve the lives of residents.

"We need a real debate about the limits of tourism," he said. The upcoming protest, he hopes, will see that debate happening sooner.

This article was originally written in German.