Europeans in overtourism hotspots coordinated a mass protest, demanding sustainable tourism, fairer living conditions and affordable housing. Robbie Hodges reports

On Sunday, 15th of June, protests calling for more sustainable tourism models erupted across key European destinations with protestors taking to the streets with water pistols, staging “noisy strolls” with their suitcases and waving placards outside new hotel developments. 

The movement was initiated by the Southern Europe Network against Touristification, a body that has factions in various countries including Spain, Greece and Italy. Scenes varied from city to city. 

In Barcelona, which has been at the centre of antitourism protests in recent years, protesters marched down the city’s Golden Mile and sprayed tourists sat in roadside cafes with water pistols, forcing them to leave. 

A key issue in Barcelona, as with other cities, is surging rent prices which not only displace locals but have a ripple effect on the service economy, too. Research from the real estate company Savills has found that the supply of short-term rental properties in Barcelona increased by more than 50% over the course of 2023, spurred by interest from Latin American and US property buyers. 

Venice, another high-profile victim of overtourism, saw local organisers float a 20 ft banner with the text, “STOP HOTEL = + CITTA" down the river, stopping tactfully outside a public housing complex that has been recently converted into rental accommodation for tourists.

In Genoa, where tourism has yet to reach the same levels, local people reportedly rattled their suitcases through the city’s old, narrow streets, creating a “noisy stroll” designed to attract the attention of local lawmakers.

The protests build upon the Antitourism trend published on Globetrender’s paid trend platform VOLT in August last year. 

Protesters are calling for greater regulation of the tourism industry, which has contributed to the economic displacement of local people and the cultural erosion of their communities. A dispatch from The Telegraph last summer found restaurant waiters on the island of Tenerife sleeping in tents on the roadside, unable to afford inflated rent.

Speaking to the New York Times, one of the June 2025 protest’s organisers, Asier Basurto, said, “our enemy is not the tourist, but the speculators and the exploiters who hide behind tourism to profit from the housing and lives of the local population.” 

Various initiatives have been rolled out in recent years which aim to limit overtourism. Amsterdam and New York have imposed restrictions on short-term rentals. Others, like Visit Copenhagen, have sought to financially incentivise good behaviour and foster better relationships between visitors and locals.

What’s clear is that antitourism won’t be solved by one brand alone but by cross-industry collaboration and creative partnerships with the public sector. 

As antitourism sentiment grows, intensified by summer heatwaves in the Mediterranean, travel and hospitality providers that differentiate themselves by paying greater attention to the needs of local stakeholders will win over tourists mired in travel shame.