by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 9:50 AM ET, Fri August 9, 2024
Spain’s anti-overtourism protests that have rocked popular hotspots from Palma de Mallorca to Barcelona could begin spreading to other destinations across Europe as the imbalance continues to be sharply felt by residents of popular destinations, according to Peter DeBrine, UNESCO’s senior project officer for sustainable tourism.
“What we’re seeing is that we’re breaching a threshold of tolerance in these destinations,” DeBrine told The Guardian. “It’s really trying to rebalance the situation. It’s totally out of balance now.”
The protests have been widespread, with hundreds of thousands of residents protesting against a housing crisis caused by too many short-term rentals, too many selfie-obsessed tourists and an increasing focus on the unsustainability of too many tourists.
In July alone, destinations across Spain protested overtourism: in Barcelona, thousands protested with signs and encouraged visitors to leave, some even squirting tourists with water.
And in Palma de Mallorca, 50,000 people demonstrated in the tourist-heavy area, waving signs that say things like “Tourists, we love you when you don’t buy our land,” referencing the volatile real estate market for locals.
You might be wondering: why is everything coming to a head this year? From Venice’s tourism fee, which raked in millions and was shown to reduce the amount of day-trippers visiting during historically popular times to visit, to Spain’s many protests, why are we just now beginning to see residents pushing back on the waves of tourists?
Well, it has partly to do with the post-pandemic international travel boom. More Americans are choosing to travel internationally this year than prior years, and that’s even created a record high U.S.-Europe tourism trade gap, with more Americans spending more in Europe than Europeans are spending in America. Destinations across the world are seeing record visitor totals.
DeBrine believes the solution is in lawmakers and officials turning the focus from promoting tourism to making these destinations better places to live.
“It’s a bit of a cliche, but I always say better places to live are better places to visit,” said DeBrine.
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