In this week’s Inside Spain we look at how Spain is once again fighting back against another summer of badly behaved tourists, with heightened tensions in the context of the country’s housing crisis and its links to overtourism.
Summer has arrived in Spain, and with millions of international tourists.
Unfortunately, mass tourism also means more incidences of antisocial behaviour on the part of some holidaymakers during the busier months of July and August.
There was a time when the alcohol-induced antics of young thrill-seekers on the costas were shrugged off as a necessary economic evil by the Spanish public.
READ MORE: Why Franco made Spain a cheap tourism destination
But the country’s current housing crisis and its links to overtourism has caused the patience of many locals to run thin.
That’s why a recent incident in the Barcelona working-class neighbourhood of La Mina has gone down like a tonne of bricks.
Residents who were protesting the recent rise in evictions in their barrio were interrupted by three young tourists on the balcony of their holiday apartment, who appeared to be singing in English in a mocking way.
Insults were exchanged, then flying objects, and finally Catalan Mossos police were then called to the scene.
The incident speaks volumes about the current state of affairs in Barcelona, from the fact that there are tourist apartments in one of the lowest-income neighbourhoods of the Catalan capital, to the tragically symbolic mis-en-scène of the tourists looking down and laughing at local residents from their Airbnb’s balcony.
It’s not the only example of the palpable tension in some of Spain’s tourist hotspots.
Earlier this month, Spanish airport operator Aena removed a controversial advertising banner at Palma Airport in Mallorca which encouraged the kind of tourism the island wants less of.
The ad for digital payment platform Wero was written in German and read “Was auf Malle passiert, wird auf Malle beglichen” (“What happens in Mallorca, is paid for in Mallorca”), a take on ‘What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas’.
Public outrage also erupted in Mallorca over the past days following viral footage showing several foreign tourists urinating in broad daylight on the shore of Playa de Palma, one of the most popular beaches on the Balearic island.
It’s perhaps no surprise that Mallorca residents are the first to have planned a demonstration against mass tourism for this summer in Spain, set to go ahead on July 26th.
Local authorities are also planning to rein in binge-drinking tourism this summer with extra measures such as using police drones in popular spots, limiting access to beaches at night and trying to prevent the deadly balconing incidents.
It’s an unfortunate situation that the boozy behaviour of a small group of foreign tourists can give other holidaymakers a bad rap, especially in the places where overtourism already broke the camel’s back.
A recent, widely-cited study by digital gaming platform JB.com put Spain, Italy, and France at the forefront of rejection of mass tourism in Europe.
The housing crisis and the rising cost of living were listed as the reasons fuelling residents’ discontent while the number of visitors continues to grow.
To determine which countries have the highest levels of anti-tourism sentiment among the local population, the four main metrics assessed were the intensity and frequency of documented anti-tourism protests during 2024 and 2025, the volume of media mentions and searches related to anti-tourism sentiment, the maximum tourist tax burden on mid-range hotels, and the proportion of international tourists to the resident population.
Do Spaniards who’ve grown tired of overtourism have a point? Or should those graffitiing ‘tourists go home’ on walls be careful what they wish for?
Both extremes are bad, from the protesters spraying water on bemused holidaymakers on Barcelona’s Ramblas, to the young revellers treating Spain like a playground for excesses without consequences.
The best option is to do your homework and pick a place in Spain that isn’t overrun with tourists. That way both sides win.
READ ALSO: Why Benidorm embraces Spain’s Franco-era mass tourism model
