Mass tourism backlash: Thousands protest in southern Spain

The protest in southern Spain occurred on Saturday afternoon (June 29 of this year). The largest demonstrations occurred in Malaga and Cadiz.

Thousands of people gathered in the center of Malaga, chanting slogans against the mass presence of tourists in their city and against what they considered the erroneous policies of the local city hall.

"Give us back our city!", "Tourism or life!", "You won't sell Malaga!" chanted the protest participants. Some demonstrators carried posters with slogans such as "Where is the mayor?", "Malaga - theme park", and "Malaga does not live off tourism, tourism lives off Malaga."

The demonstrators demanded that city authorities limit mass tourism, which they said leads to excessive increases in property prices and residents' costs of living.

Opponents of mass tourism protested in Cadiz in front of the city authority headquarters. The demands presented to the city hall included proposals to increase taxes and fees for establishments accepting tourists, designate areas where tourists can stay overnight, and initiate strict controls of properties where vacationers are illegally accommodated.

As usual during such large gatherings, attendance data varied. The march organizers claimed that about 25,000 people participated in the protest. In contrast, some Italian media reported lower attendance. The newspaper "La Pais" reported that there were about 15,000 protesters.

Andalusia is another region of Spain where protests against the mass presence of tourists have recently occurred. Similar rallies were organized earlier in the Balearic and Canary Islands.