24/7 Space News
SPACE TRAVEL
'Go home': Overtourism sparks backlash in Spain
'Go home': Overtourism sparks backlash in Spain
By Valentin BONTEMPS
Madrid (AFP) April 16, 2024

Anti-tourism movements are multiplying in Spain, the world's second most visited country, prompting authorities to try and reconcile the interests of locals and the lucrative sector.

Rallying under the slogan "The Canaries have a limit", a collective of groups on the archipelago off northwest Africa are planning a slew of protests on Saturday.

The Canaries are known for volcanic landscapes and year-round sunshine and attracts millions of visitors from all over the world.

Groups there want authorities to halt work on two new hotels on Tenerife, the largest and most developed of the archipelago's seven islands.

They are also demanding that locals be given a greater say in the face of what they consider uncontrolled development which is harming the environment.

Several members of the collective "Canaries Sold Out" also began an "indefinite" hunger strike last week to put pressure of the authorities.

"Our islands are a treasure that must be defended," the collective said.

The Canaries received 16 million visitors last year, more than seven times its population of around 2.2 million people.

This is an unsustainable level given the archipelago's limited resources, Victor Martin, a spokesman for the collective told a recent press briefing, calling it a "suicidal growth model".

- 'Social revulsion' -

Similar anti-tourism movements have sprung up elsewhere in Spain and are active on social media.

In the southern port of Malaga on the Costa del Sol, a centre of Spain's decades-old "soy y playa" or "sun and beach" tourism model, stickers with unfriendly slogans such as "This used to be my home" and "Go home" have appeared on the walls and doors of tourist accommodations.

In Barcelona and the Balearic Islands, activists have put up fake signs at the entrances to some popular beaches warning in English of the risk of "falling rocks" or "dangerous jellyfish".

Locals complain a rise in accommodation listings on short-term rental platforms such as Airbnb have worsened a housing shortage and caused rents to soar, especially in town centres.

The influx of tourists also adds to noise and environmental pollution and taxes resources such as water, they add.

In the northeastern region of Catalonia, which declared a drought emergency in February, anger is growing over the pressure exerted on depleted water reserves by hotels on the Costa Brava.

"Our concern is to continue to grow tourism in Spain so that it is sustainable and does not generate social revulsion," the vice president of tourism association Exceltur, Jose Luis Zoreda, told a news conference on Tuesday when asked about the protest movements.

The group said it expects Spain's tourism sector will post record revenues of 202.65 billion euros ($215.4 billion) this year.

- Loudspeaker ban -

Before the Covid-19 pandemic brought the global travel industry to its knees in 2020, protest movements against overtourism had already emerged in Spain, especially in Barcelona.

Now that pandemic travel restrictions have been lifted, tourism is back with a vengeance -- Spain welcomed a record 85.1 million foreign visitors last year.

In response, several cities have taken measures to try to limit overcrowding.

The northern seaside city of San Sebastian last month limited the size of tourist groups in the centre to 25 people and banned the use of loudspeakers during guided tours.

The southern city of Seville is mulling charging non-residents a fee to enter its landmark Plaza de Espana while Barcelona had removed a bus route popular with tourists from Google Maps to try to make more room for locals.

Housing Minister Isabel Rodriguez said over the weekend that "action needs to be taken to limit the number of tourist flats" but stressed the government is "aware of the importance of the tourist sector", which accounts for 12.8 percent of Spain's economic activity.

Related Links
Space Tourism, Space Transport and Space Exploration News

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
SPACE TRAVEL
Kyoto seeks to guard geishas from tourist 'paparazzi'
Kyoto, Japan (AFP) Mar 13, 2024
Kyoto is cracking down after locals complained that Instagram-obsessed tourist "paparazzi" are harassing the Japanese city's famous, immaculately dressed geisha. Real-life geisha, or "geiko" ("women of art") as they are known locally, work for a living - as they have for centuries - in teahouses in Kyoto's picturesque Gion district where they perform traditional Japanese dance, music and games. However, like other major tourist attractions around the world such as Bruges in Belgium, Venice in ... read more

SPACE TRAVEL
'Go home': Overtourism sparks backlash in Spain

Precision in space: L3Harris boosts avionics for next-gen launch vehicles

Japan seeks to reclaim tech edge with overseas help

Australia PM unveils plan to overhaul economy, invest in green energy

SPACE TRAVEL
UK Space Agency supports Rolls-Royce and BWX Technologies in developing space reactors

Aerojet Rocketdyne advances space maneuver with new propulsion tech

Private Sector Innovation and Its Impact on the Space Industry

Flight Works creates modular propulsion system for AFRL with $5.7M contract

SPACE TRAVEL
Exomars 2028 and the Search for Life on Mars

Looking back at Hinman Col: Sols 4146-4147

Perseverance uncovers a watery past on Mars

Continuing up the Channel: Sols 4139-4140

SPACE TRAVEL
Astronaut fitness regimes critical in Tiangong Space Station

Space Devices Ensure Health of Taikonauts Aboard Tiangong Space Station

Shenzhou 17 astronauts complete China's first in-space repair job

Tiangong Space Station's Solar Wings Restored After Spacewalk Repair by Shenzhou XVII Team

SPACE TRAVEL
The economics of falling satellite costs and the global impact

Navigating the New Frontier: The Space Economy and Its Global Implications

Satellogic secures $30 million from Tether Investments for strategic expansion

Spectrum Advanced Manufacturing Technologies Announces Major Expansion in Colorado Springs

SPACE TRAVEL
Cheap Chinese steel threatens jobs in Latin America

US firms reestablish rare earth element production

New 3D-printed elastomer advances soft robotics and wearable tech

Exploring the enigmatic behavior of granular materials through sound

SPACE TRAVEL
New insights into Earth's carbon cycle offer clues for habitability of other planets

Exoplanets evaluated in new light

NASA's planet-hunter TESS temporarily shuts off

First 'glory' on hellish distant world

SPACE TRAVEL
Assessing the ages of moons from impact craters

NASA unveils probe bound for Jupiter's possibly life-sustaining moon

Juice mission successfully tests Callisto flyby simulation

The PI's Perspective: Needles in the Cosmic Haystack

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.