In several places in Spain, there have been protests against over-tourism in the country. In Palma, Mallorca, around 10,000 people gathered at the end of May to demonstrate against overtourism. And on Saturday night, around 3,000 people gathered to protest the same thing in Barcelona.
Spain is no stranger to tourism. But in recent years it has led to negative consequences for local residents. House prices skyrocket, rents hit the roof and everyday things like public transport and electricity increase significantly, which has made it difficult to live.
SVT has previously met Charles Duran in Mallorca, who is forced to live in a caravan outside Palma because it is too expensive to live in the city.
Cannot provide tourists with water
On another Mediterranean island about 900 kilometers from Mallorca lies Sicily. There may not be any tourist demonstrations going on there, but the prevailing water shortage has made itself such a reminder that hotels and bed and breakfasts around the island have been forced to turn away tourists because they cannot provide guests with water.
Sicily declared a state of emergency earlier this year due to the water shortage and the island’s local government has requested subsidies from the government to be able to import water from the mainland. But there are currently concrete plans to help the island, writes CNN.
At the same time, the local Ministry of Tourism says that they expect the number of tourists traveling to the island to increase by two percent compared to the previous year.
Problems also in Sweden
At home in Sweden, tourism has also had its consequences. On Gotland, infrastructure and healthcare are not enough with an increase from 60,000 inhabitants to one million. Therefore, the discussion about tourist tax has gained momentum. A tax that may not be set today, but that regional councilor Mei Fohlin (S) wants to introduce.