Tourism remains one of the main engines of the Spanish economy, but in recent times the debate has intensified: Is this sustainable mass tourism model for those who live in the most sought after regions? Between protests, blockages and tensions, the choir of voices that say they can no longer stand the negative effects of so many millions of tourists in Spain.
More tourists, greater impact
In recent months, the mass tourism contestation has risen in tone in various areas of the neighboring country. What was once summarized to punctual complaints and scattered manifestations now begins to gain strength as a true social movement that requires profound changes in the current model, warns infobae.
According to official data, Spain broke a new record in 2024, with more than 93 million international tourists, an increase of 10% compared to 2023. With summer at the door, these numbers are expected to continue to rise, but not all are satisfied with this growth.
Ibiza and Featured Tenerife
In the archipelagos of whaares and cannaries, residents have expressed their displeasure through symbolic actions. In Ibiza, a group of inhabitants blocked access to ES Vedrà beach with large stones, a much sought after place for private parties. This action displeased many British tourists, but was supported by the places, fed up with disrespect and the environmental impact caused by mass tourism.
In Tenerife, the situation worsened when activists burned a fleet of rental cars in Costa Adeje, a tourist zone par excellence, images that ran into the world and generated indignation.
Beyond-border concern
These protests began to worry the main tourist emitting countries to Spain. The Daily Mail highlighted the growing fear among the British, which remain the most frequent visitors, but also among French and Germans, traditionally numerous in Spanish tourism.
The British newspaper recalled that last summer, protesters directly blamed tourists by increasing income and cost of living, even threatening blockages at terminals and airports if nothing was done to reverse the situation.
Prices that rule out inhabitants
For local residents, the reasons for indignation are clear: Tourism mainly benefits large hotel chains and international investors, leaving behind the resident population, which is confronted with unmarked housing prices and a constant cost of living.
Many historical centers become exclusively touristy zones, while traditional stores, schools and public services disappear. The imbalance thus becomes impossible to ignore, according to the source mentioned above.
Criticism of experts to the current model
Experts such as Raül Valls of the Alba Sud Research Center point to a finger to a tourist model focused only on immediate profit, without considering the well-being of local communities or environmental sustainability. Valls warns of the loss of identity of cities, transformed into authentic thematic parks for visitors of passage, says Infobae.
Researcher Ernest Cañada, from the University of Baleares, quoted by the same source, confirms this vision and warns that tensions will increase in the coming months. “We are watching the beginning of a social conflict that will get worse at the summer peak,” he says, underlining the pressure on public services, the lack of housing and the growing tiredness of residents.
Summer of uncertainties
The international press begins to devote more attention to this reality. The tone of many reports is no longer just curiosity but warning. O, for example, expresses the fear that the protests are radicalized and result in airport or road blockages.
With the arrival of summer, a particularly tense period is anticipated, with millions of tourists coming to vacation and local communities that ask for something more: respect, balance and a decent future.
Increased tourist rates
One of the latest changes that directly affect tourists is the increase in tourist rates in various Spanish regions. In Barcelona, for example, the rate for luxury hotels doubled from 3.50 euros to 7 euros per night.
Cruise passengers are also now paying 6 euros, even if they are only one day in town. On the whaares islands, the sleep rate rose from 4 to 6 euros per person, while in Santiago de Compostela and Toledo new rates were introduced between 1 and 2.50 euros per night. The Canaries pondered to follow the same path.
As a curiosity, now that Palma de Mallorca was one of the first Spanish cities to create a strategy against excessive tourism, since 2018 prohibiting the tourist rental of apartments in residential buildings. Already in 2023, the city of Venice, Italy, introduced an entry rate for tourists of a day, a measure considered by some Spanish cities to reduce mass tourism.
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