Locals bear the brunt of mass tourism in southern Europe

Several European cities peculiarly fashionable with tourists person been witnessing protests by section residents. In Venice, immoderate protesters adjacent squatted successful apartments successful caller years. They accidental their metropolis is being plagued by tourism, which has near fewer affordable homes for locals.

About 49,000 radical live in Venice's historic metropolis center. According to assorted estimates, much than 20 cardinal tourists visit the metropolis each year. And so, the regular lives of immoderate provide the backdrop for the abrogation memories of others.

Europe is the continent that attracts the astir planetary tourists. And Venice is not the lone European metropolis suffering from the interaction of wide tourism. There have been an expanding magnitude of reports on protests against tourism successful Barcelona and different Spanish cities. And successful the Portuguese superior Lisbon, its Czech counterpart Prague, arsenic good arsenic the Dutch metropolis of Amsterdam, reports of tensions betwixt visitors and locals person been piling up.

In each city, the reasons cited for these mounting tensions are similar: rising rents, astronomical existent property prices, and the question of who is allowed to usage which resources.

Revenue streams from tourism often insufficient

Tourism is often the fig 1 root of income for cities and regions crossed Europe. According to estimates by the European Union (EU), tourism accounts for astir 10% of the bloc's gross home product (GDP), with immoderate 12.3 cardinal radical employed successful the sector.

However, "these are abstract figures," said Sebastian Zenker, an adept for tourism and selling at the Copenhagen Business School. He explained that local residents gained thing from this revenue if rents roseate on with it, if properties became unaffordable, oregon if restaurants charged prices lone tourists could afford. To curb this, helium said, locals needed to person a consciousness that things were balanced.

He said that though galore radical did gain immoderate income from tourism, lone a fewer were capable to marque bully money, fto alone a living, arsenic astir wages were excessively low.

In Portugal, the minimum wage is €4.85 ($5.25) per hour. In Spain, it is €6.87. Italy does not person a minimum wage astatine all.

Where does the wealth go?

Where does each the wealth spell that travelers to Mediterranean countries spend? According to Paul Peeters, who researches sustainable tourism and transport astatine Breda University of Applied Sciences successful the Netherlands, a ample portion of it goes to airlines, large edifice chains, planetary companies, and the cruise industry.

When it comes to calculating tourism currency flows, the mode of proscription selected tin beryllium a decisive factor. People connected cruises usually slumber and devour aboard. People who bargain abrogation packages and publication flights, hotels and meals done ample providers seldom walk overmuch wealth connected the ground.

However, they do contribute to contamination and consume invaluable resources specified arsenic water, thereby adding to the load connected locals, which tin exacerbate the feeling of inequality and fuel tensions betwixt visitors and locals.

"All actors are aware that they privation tourism," Zenker said. "But the question is, 'How?', and, 'What kind?'"

Demarketing, rules and bans

In galore places, politicians person started to instrumentality action. In Amsterdam, the operation of caller hotels has been banned, for example. The metropolis has besides tried to get a grip connected enactment and cause tourism with targeted demarketing campaigns — strategies which trim the request for a definite merchandise among circumstantial people groups. 

In Lisbon and Palma de Mallorca, the rental marketplace has agelong outpaced the residents' needs and economical realities. Authorities are present attempting to curb this development. For example, caller licenses for renting retired spot via online platforms specified arsenic Airbnb are nary longer being issued. Palma is besides imposing clip limits connected renting retired properties to tourists.

In Barcelona, radical person taken to the streets to protestation against touristsImage: Emilio Morenatti/AP/picture alliance

Barcelona is taking a more drastic approach: The Catalan metropolis has announced that licenses for renting retired astir 10,000 vacation flats volition expire successful 2028. The thought is to instrumentality immoderate unit disconnected the lodging marketplace successful a metropolis wherever rents person risen by much than 60% successful the past 10 years.

Cruise ships are besides facing much restrictions and higher fees. Large ships person not been allowed to dock successful Venice's halfway since 2021, and Amsterdam is readying to present akin restrictions by 2026. This is meant to not lone bounds the number of tourists who participate the city, but besides trim aerial pollution.

Promotion of 'high-quality' tourism

Like Amsterdam, Mallorca is besides trying to shake disconnected its image of being a enactment destination. Overall, the land wants to pull less tourists, but it prefers those who are consenting to walk money. But is the promotion of alleged "high-quality tourism" truly the solution? 

No, says Macia Blázquez-Salom, a geography prof and activistic who lives successful Palma de Mallorca. She told DW that focusing connected luxury tourism would conscionable exacerbate inequalities.

"Party and formation edifice tourism is constricted to circumstantial locations, it fundamentally works similar a factory," she explained. That meant that the nonstop interaction of these toursits was limited to a tiny portion of the municipalities connected the island.

She said that better-off tourists had higher expectations, consumed much water, tended to instrumentality much abbreviated trips, and could besides bargain spot if necessary. She explained that this boosted "gentrification and existent property speculation," which had a overmuch much nonstop interaction connected the lives of section residents. 

From 2026, Amsterdam is banning cruise ships (here successful Barcelona) from docking. Venice banned them successful 2021. Image: Jordi Boixareu/ZUMA Wire/picture alliance

Growth is nary longer an enactment for locals

Much of the tourism assemblage continues to deliberation lone successful presumption of growth. Record numbers of visitors are welcomed to tourism hotspots each year. But for galore locals successful Barcelona, Venice and Palma, much maturation is nary longer an option. What tin beryllium done?

Peeters said that 1 attack would beryllium to support the fig of tourists astatine a level that cities and municipalities could inactive header with. He said that ecological and societal factors should play a cardinal relation successful this.

But this would require corresponding agreements with airlines and larboard authorities, whose fiscal models are mostly geared toward overcapacity, and frankincense further growth.

This nonfiction was translated from German.