Southern Europe Braces for Major OverTourism Protests Amid Rising Local Tensions

Across Spain, Portugal, and Italy, local communities are preparing for large-scale protests on Sunday, June 15, to voice their growing frustration over the impacts of overtourism. Organized under the banner of Southern Europe Against Touristification (SET), the demonstrations are expected to unfold in at least 16 destinations across Southern Europe’s most visited holiday hotspots.

From Barcelona and Ibiza to Venice and Lisbon, protestors aim to spotlight how mass tourism is transforming their hometowns for the worse—driving up rent, squeezing locals out of housing, straining public services, and eroding the cultural fabric of cities. While organizers emphasize that the protests are not directed at tourists personally, tensions on the ground reflect a sharp backlash against the unchecked growth of the tourism industry.

“We are being squeezed out of our homes, our public spaces, and our daily lives,” one protestor told EU Today. Local groups in places like Mallorca and Barcelona claim that policies enabling large-scale tourist inflows are damaging community life and fueling inequality. Cities such as Barcelona have already announced long-term plans to eliminate all short-term tourist rentals by 2028, citing a 68% surge in rental costs over the past decade.

Protestors are planning demonstrations in popular destinations including:

• Spain: Barcelona, Palma, Ibiza, Valencia, Seville, Granada, Menorca, Málaga, Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián, Tenerife, and Cantabria
• Italy: Venice, Naples, Palermo, Milan, and Genoa
• Portugal: Lisbon

Tactics may include rallies at beaches and city centers, picketing at airports, and symbolic acts like spraying tourists with water guns—already a hallmark of past protests. While tourists are not expected to face violence, visitors are advised to remain aware of protest locations, respect local sensitivities, and avoid direct involvement.

The timing of the protests coincides with predictions of record-breaking tourist numbers in Europe for 2025, with international travel spending expected to rise by 11% to $838 billion. However, critics argue that economic gains from tourism do not justify the long-term social costs.

As Europe wrestles with the duality of needing tourism revenue while protecting community well-being, Sunday’s protests are likely to signal a pivotal moment in the ongoing debate over how much tourism is too much.