POLL: Are Spaniards right to be annoyed with ‘overtourism’? | World | News

After last summer’s wave of anti-tourism protests in Spain, Spaniards have vowed to ramp up their demonstrations during the peak season this year. Locals in Barcelona, Majorca, Andalusia, and elsewhere, took to the streets to complain that their home towns and cities were being overrun by holidaymakers.

In major cities like Barcelona, residents have had to put up with spiralling property prices, while in places like Benidorm, environmental campaigners have blamed the tourist industry for water shortages. In September, Express.co.uk visited Villajoyosa, 30 minutes outside Benidorm, where environmentalist Jaime Vaello blamed overtourism for “saturation of public services”, “loss of native culture”, and expose local Spaniards to “anti-social activities”.

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In 2024, more than 15,000 demonstrators protested on the island of Majorca. The activists chanted “tourists go home” and carried banners saying: “Salvem Mallorca, guiris arruix”. Translated from Catalan Spanish, the message read: “Let’s save Majorca, foreigners out”.

Another banner translated to: “Wherever you look, they’re all guiris.” “Guiri” is a colloquial term often used to describe anti-social Brits, drinking excessively and behaving in an uncouth manner.

Barcelona is now planning to double its tourist tax to €15 (£12.63) a night. Jordi Valls, one of the city’s deputy mayor’s told CNN: “We think tourist demand is unstoppable.

“Everyone is welcome. But there’s a limit,” he said, without specifying a figure. “The only possibility is to control the supply.”