Overtourism Backlash Heats Up in Europe as Summer Season Kicks Off

The arrival of peak season is fanning the flames of anti-tourism sentiments in Europe, with protests and a strike breaking out over the past few days. Plus, Airbnb hopes to divert blame for the issues with a new report. 

Overtourism is an ongoing strain on European cities. Residents have often said that floods of foot traffic are decreasing their quality of life, while a booming hospitality sector is taking over and pricing them out of their homes.  

Protests in Mallorca, Barcelona, Venice, and Lisbon, as well as a workers’ strike at the world’s most visited museum, are drawing heightened attention to the issue. 

The Louvre Lies in the Balance

Staff at The Louvre staged a strike on Monday morning, causing a surprise delayed opening of the museum, according to AP News. Gallery attendants, security guards, and ticket agents refused to take up their posts, causing a temporary shutdown. 

Visitors were ushered into a long line to wait outside without explanation. Later, The Louvre opened with limited availability, and it is not expected to reopen fully until Wednesday. This will likely affect admissions for the next few days. 

Workers assert that The Louvre’s infrastructure cannot withstand the mass foot traffic it gets day in and out. President Emmanuel Macron has announced a decade-long plan to overhaul the museum, notably aiming to move the Mona Lisa to its own room and establishing timed tickets to see it, but employees say it may not be enough. 

“We can’t wait six years for help,” Sarah Sefian, a front-of-house gallery attendant and visitor services agent, told AP News. “Our teams are under pressure now. It’s not just about the art — it’s about the people protecting it.” 

Protests in Spain, Italy, and Portugal

“Barcelona has been handed to the tourists. This is a fight to give Barcelona back to its residents,” resident Andreu Martínez told AP News after squirting visitors with a water gun and noting that the action is meant to “bother the tourists a bit.” 

This was part of coordinated protests across several European cities last weekend – demonstrators rallied against overtourism in Lisbon and Venice, as well. It’s not the first and likely not the last time tourists have been met with water gun wielding protestors – the same thing happened in Barcelona last summer, too. 

Protestors in Barcelona also blew whistles, held signs that read “One more tourist, one less resident” and “Tourism is killing Barcelona,” and drew water guns on the doors of hotels and hostels. 

In Venice, protestors carried a banner calling for a halt to new hotels in the city. There were also smaller protests in Granada, San Sebastian, and Ibiza, according to AP News. 

The governments in Venice and Barcelona have implemented tourist taxes, but many critics argue it’s not enough to drive out the mass of visitors. 

Airbnb Weighs In

A large part of overtourism concerns is its impact on the housing markets in densely touristed cities. Often Airbnb has been a target, with cities like Nice, France cracking down on short-term rentals, arguing the system reduces housing options for residents. 

But on June 12, Airbnb shifted blame to hotels for creating such problems, releasing a report titled “Overtourism in the EU: What data tells us about the overwhelming impact of hotels on overtourism in the EU.” 

The report shows that 80% of guests stay in hotels and that in some city centers, there are three hotel rooms for every five residents. Airbnb goes on to argue that overtourism is only getting worse in places where Airbnb is restricted, and that while Airbnbs are concentrated in more remote places, hotels cause guests to flock to the same overcrowded hotspots. 

“If cities are serious about easing overtourism, they must address the overwhelming impact of hotels,” said Theo Yedinsky, Airbnb’s vice president of public policy. “Europe needs more homes – not hotels – yet cities are building more hotels as the construction of housing in the region nears a decade low.”