By William J. Furney
More people in Spain than elsewhere around Europe believe there are too many tourists in their local areas, according to a new poll.
One-third of Spaniards who took part in the YouGov survey believed their cities, towns and villages were inundated with tourists and that it was negatively affecting their lives.
The poll was conducted in early August following months of protests by local residents around mainland Spain and also in Spanish tourist hotspots like the Balearics and Tenerife and Gran Canaria in the Canary Islands, off the northwestern coast of Africa.
Tourists in Barcelona were sprayed with water from pistols during protests against tourism in the seaside city where residents say they have been forced out of the city due to soaring rents and accommodation given over to short-term letting on platforms like Airbnb. The local government announced in June that it would ban Airbnb and similar services in Barcelona from 2028 as it clamps down on holiday rentals.
Spanish seasonal workers and also police officers have spoken of sleeping in tents or their cars in holiday hotspots like Ibiza — renowned as a party island — because they cannot afford the soaring rents charged by property owners focused on the short-term tourist sector.
Locals in France, Italy and Germany were next in the YouGov survey in holding the view that there was too much tourism in their countries, followed by people in Britain, Denmark and Sweden.
* Image credit: SOPA Images