There are at least 12 hot tourist spots in southern Europe The protests against “touristification”, have seen many people take to the streets.
The most widespread action taken to date is against the reshaping and reshaping cities for tourists instead of the residents.
On Sunday, thousands of people marched in cities such as Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca. Others took part in more symbolic protests. Campaigners in Genoa, Italy, dragged an old-town cardboard cruise ship down narrow alleyways. They wanted to demonstrate that tourism is not welcome.
The replica of St Anthony was “evicted”, from his church, and brought to the future site of a luxury hotel. It was part of a Sunday procession in Lisbon to show that even saints can be victimized by tourism.
Around 600-800 protesters marched through Barcelona’s city center, chanting slogans like “Mass tourism destroys the city”, and “Their greed has brought us ruin.”
Some people fired water pistols or threw flares. Others put stickers saying “Neighbourhood Self-Defense, Tourists go home” on hotel and shop windows. Last year, 26 million tourists visited Barcelona, which has a population of 1.6 millions.
Through all of the actions, a rallying cries for a rethink of a tourism model Campaigners claim that the system has shifted profits from the local population to a select few while the rest of the country is left paying the price in the form of rising house prices, rents and environmental degradation, as well as the rise of low-paying, precarious jobs.
Last year, tensions surrounding tourism exploded into the public eye. tens of thousands of people protested In Spain’s most popular tourist destinations. Most of the protests on Sunday took place in Spain where tourism grew last year. record levels. Also participating were cities in Italy and Portugal.
Despite the spate of fear-inducing headlines in some media, the aim was not to attack tourists, said Asier Basurto, a member of the “tourism degrowth” platform that organised a march in the Basque city of San Sebastián.
He said that people who travel to different places for vacation are not his enemies or the targets of his actions. “Let’s be clear, our enemies are the people who profit handsomely by speculating on housing and exploitation of workers.
In April, groups from Spain and Italy began to plan a joint day of action. Portugal The Southern European Network Against Touristification brought together France and Spain in Barcelona for a two-day conference.
“When we started speaking to each other, it was amazing,” said María Cardona, of Canviem el Rumb, or Let’s Change Course, one of the groups behind Sunday’s march in Ibiza. “Despite our distance, we all have the same problem.”
Cardona said that the slogan of the Ibiza march was “the right for a dignified existence”. What does this mean for life on Ibiza? There’s the right to water – we’re under restrictions“There’s a water shortage, and they’ve shut down all public fountains,” added the woman. “But villas and hotels continue to fill up their pools, as if water restrictions did not exist.”
It was not just the cost of living, but also the fact that it had soared. left many workers Vans, tents or caravans are common. Cardona added, “We’re also seeing that historical and traditional names are being replaced with English names that the locals don’t know.” “It is like the DNA of this island is changing.”
In Venice, residents protested over the lack regulations which has allowed the short-term rental market to boom and hotels tightening their grip on housing. “We’ve been stressing this for two years now, that there are many more tourists than residents,” said Remi Waccogne of Ocio. civic observatory on housing. Tourism is literally taking over the home.
The constant shift in direction had unleashed an unprecedented wave of change throughout the city. Wacogne stated that ATMs were one of the many businesses opening in Venice. “Which in a way is a metaphor for what’s going on.” Venice is in essence an ATM, a place where a limited group of people can rent it out and make money.
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This sentiment was also echoed by residents in Genoa who organised a “noisy walk” with their cardboard ship to highlight the discord between tourism and local culture. One organizer, who requested anonymity, said: “We view tourism as a way to extract value from cities and regions.” “We’re not some kind of mine. This is where people live.”
A semantic shift was the foundation of the joint action. Manuel Martin from the Movement for a Housing Referendum, One of the groups organizing the Lisbon action.
He added, “So this is a change from a place where people live and work.
Martin added that this has eroded the social and cultural fabric of cities. He cited the many shops and bookshops, some more than 100 years old, in Lisbon which have closed down after rising rents forced them out. “It excavates all the meaning out of a city and makes it a Disneyfied version.”
After a few protesters with water guns squirted water Organisers in Barcelona said that they encouraged people to bring their water guns to the march on Sunday.
Daniel Pardo Rivacoba from the Neighbourhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth stated, “But this must be contextualised.” Tabloids and media reported on the incident last year as if it were a threat or intimidation. He said that the most extreme spoke of violence and other things. “But a squirt gun is not a firearm. It’s only a toy. It’s a toy.
Campaigners have used the water pistol to symbolize local resistance. Pardo said that the water pistol was harmless. “But, if we are talking about violence let’s discuss the violence of tourism. Let’s discuss the violence tourism inflicts on the city, such as evictions and the displacement of the population.
When it comes to tourism violence is taking place. “But it’s not due to water guns.”
Jon Henley: Additional Reporting
