Europe faces rising overtourism protests

Europe’s anti-tourism protests have moved from one-off marches to a wider fight over housing, rents and who city centers are for. (reuters.com) (ap.org) The biggest coordinated demonstrations came on June 15, 2025, when thousands marched in Barcelona, Palma, Lisbon and Venice. In Barcelona, protesters fired water pistols, set off smoke and carried signs blaming mass tourism for rising housing costs. (reuters.com) (euronews.com) Barcelona became the movement’s emblem after images of tourists being sprayed with water guns spread globally. The Associated Press reported the props were meant to irritate visitors and dramatize complaints that central neighborhoods had been “handed to the tourists.” (ap.org) (cbsnews.com) The grievance residents keep returning to is housing. Reuters tied the southern Europe protests to short-term rentals, rising property costs and city centers that locals say no longer function for everyday life. (reuters.com) (news.sky.com) The Canary Islands helped set off the current wave earlier, with mass protests on April 20, 2024. Reuters said the archipelago’s 2.2 million residents received nearly 14 million foreign tourists in 2023, and organizers said housing, traffic and overburdened services had hit a limit. (rnz.co.nz) (dw.com) Governments have started answering with taxes, caps and entry rules rather than broad promises. In February 2026, Catalonia approved a law that could push Barcelona’s tourist tax to as much as €15 a night, with officials saying the money would help fund affordable housing. (reuters.com) Venice has gone after day-tripper congestion with an access-fee system. The city’s official portal says the 2026 fee applies on selected days starting April 3, usually between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., extending a policy first tested in 2024. (cda.ve.it) (comune.venezia.it) Amsterdam has taken aim at short-term rentals instead. City plans announced in March would cut allowed home rentals in the center and De Pijp from 30 nights a year to 15 from April 2026, on the argument that homes should stay homes. (nltimes.nl) (dutchnews.nl) Tourism officials and business groups still point to the industry’s economic weight. Reuters reported tourism accounted for about 12% of Spain’s economy, while Mediterranean islands depend on the sector far more heavily than mainland cities. (reuters.com) (euronews.com) That leaves Europe’s most visited places trying to protect two things at once: visitor income and ordinary urban life. The protests have not stopped tourism, but they have made taxes, rental limits and crowd controls part of how cities now manage it. (reuters.com) (cda.ve.it)