Overtourism drives housing crises and local business decline across Europe, prompting protests against unchecked tourism models.
🔗 Read the article on elconfidencial.com
[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]
Concerns are rising across Europe and Spain regarding overtourism, where excessive tourism negatively impacts residents’ quality of life. This phenomenon is linked to increased housing costs due to short-term tourist rentals, which displace local communities and erode local commerce. Data shows Andalusia has a high volume of overnight stays from short-term rentals in Europe, while other regions like Greece and Italy face severe issues with housing affordability and urban environment degradation. While tourism remains vital for economies, critics argue that current models lack regulation. In Spain, movements are growing, particularly in cities like Málaga and Cádiz, protesting the turistification and gentrification, which has led to significant rent increases—for example, rents in central Málaga have doubled since 2021. These protests aim to shift the focus from tourism-driven speculation back to residents’ right to housing, emphasizing that the issue is about regulating the sector rather than hating tourists. Spain saw over 85 million international visitors in 2023, and these concerns are expanding beyond coastal areas across the country.
