The August holiday peak is well past, but anger against over-tourism in Spain is spilling over into the off-season, as holidaymakers continue to seek winter sun.
On Sunday locals in the Basque city of San Sebastian planned to take to the streets under the banner: “We are in danger; reduce tourism!”
And in November anti-tourism protesters will gather in Seville.
Thousands turned out last Sunday in the Canary Islands, so it's clear the problem isn't going away.
This year seems to have marked a watershed for tourism in Spain and many other parts of Europe, as the post-Covid travel boom has seen the industry equal and often surpass records set before the pandemic.
Spain is expected to welcome more than 90 million foreign visitors by the end of the year. Aid firm Braintrust estimates that the number of immigrants will rise to 115 million by 2040, ahead of the current world leader, France.
'Guests go home'
This year's protests began in April, in the Canary Islands, and included a hunger strike by six protesters in Tenerife trying to stop two major tourism projects on the island.
They continued in many of the country's most popular tourist destinations, such as the Balearic Islands, the Mediterranean city of Alicante, the southern coastal cities of Barcelona, where some protesters pelted foreign tourists with water guns and shouted: “Tourists go home!” .
The grievances driving the upcoming protests are the same as those of the summer.
“Tourism, a minority like gold, is an example of the economy that is suffocating us all,” said Bizilagunekin (or “neighbors”, in Basque), a public organization organizing Sunday's protests in San Sebastian.
This demonstration is the culmination of a series of debates, discussions and other events in the city called “October against Tourism”.
“What we've seen in the last eight or 10 years has been a huge acceleration of the 'tourism' process,” said Asier Basurto, a panel member. “All the services of our city are made according to the instructions of the tourism industry.”
He emphasizes that the number of visitors is not the problem, it is the way the city treats tourists rather than residents.
Public spaces tend to be visited for short periods of time and the tourism industry creates precarious employment opportunities, he says.
Mr Basurto believes that tourists are increasing rents, mainly due to temporary accommodation, sending local residents further and further away from the historic center of San Sebastian.
“We have had a way of life for generations and generations – where people are connected to each other and those who come are integrated,” he added.
“If we have a model where people visit for five days and then leave, it becomes a theme park, without culture, without society.”
Complaints about the impact of tourism on rental prices are a common theme and tap into the wider housing crisis across Spain. The country's central bank reported that almost half of families renting at market rates are at risk of poverty or eviction.
However, since tourism represents 13% of Spain's GDP and directly provides almost three million jobs, its supporters insist that the industry is important to the economy and that it has helped the country recover from the pandemic.
They are particularly concerned about scenes like the one at Playa de las Américas in Tenerife on October 20, where one video showed two tourists sunbathing on the beach while protesters chanted just meters away.
There have also been reports in the Spanish media about bad behaviour, such as the locks of holiday homes in Seville being covered in faeces.
Such incidents prompted David Morales, the head of tourism of the Conservative People's Party (PP) in the Canary Islands, to emphasize “the right of tourists to enjoy their holidays without being victims of harassment or attacks with hands or words, and certainly not physically. attack”.
'Tourism-phobia'
As the protests continue beyond the summer, there is some concern in places like the Canary Islands, where the weather means they receive more visitors during the winter months.
The president of the Circle of Impresarios and Professionals in Southern Tenerife (CEST), Javier Cabrera, warned that “under the umbrella of official complaints, tourism-phobia is being cultivated”.
There has been an attempt to mitigate the backlash, with a number of measures being implemented.
The city hall of Barcelona has announced that temporary accommodation for tourists will be closed from 2028.
The local authorities in Palma de Mallorca have put a limit on the number of cruise liners that dock at their port.
In Tenerife, a new limit has been introduced on the number of visitors to certain natural parks.
And in Seville, a new charge is being planned for those entering the city's famous Plaza de España square.
However, Asier Basurto is not sure and says that the protests must continue.
“Those who promote tourism will no longer say that everything is going well,” he said.
“Either we change this now or it will be too late.”
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