Why are the people of Malaga fighting against excessive tourism?

This article was originally published in English

Residents of Málaga are frustrated with the growing influx of tourists and are now making their feelings clear.

The center of the Spanish city has been hit by a wave of stickers, plastered on walls and doors, with slogans telling visitors what the locals think of them.

When you walk through the streets of Málaga, you will see these stickers, which range from insignificant “It Was My House” (antes esta era mi casa) that “It was the center of the city” (antes esto era el centro), passing through “Go home” (a tu puta casa) a “smells like a tourist” (apestando and tourist).

Why are the people of Malaga so irritated by tourists?

The Costa del Sol has long been a popular destination for visitors thanks to its sunny climate and relatively low cost of living. Recently, however, it has become an even more popular destination for vacationers and digital nomads.

Many residents have simply had enough. Bar owner Dani Drunko runs a popular restaurant in Málaga called Drunkorama. He started a “sticker” initiative and had popular anti-tourism phrases given to him by bar regulars printed and posted.

In an interview with a local newspaper, “Diario Sur”Dani Drunko explained that he started this campaign after he was “fired” the house in which he lived for ten years.

He claims the landlord refused to negotiate the rent or even sell him the property. The reason? They wanted to turn it into a short-term rental for tourists.

“There is a lot of hype because the locals are fed up with the situation. I just suggested the idea of ​​slogans, offered a spark and now others have joined.”Dani Drunko confides to Diario Sur.

“The city center of M__á__laga has been deteriorating for a long time, so much so that if something breaks in a bar, for example, I don’t have a hardware store to buy something, because the tourist who comes doesn’t come. i need to buy screws”he adds.

Dani Pérez, a local politician, took to X – formerly Twitter – to add his voice to the growing discontent.

“You walk through the streets of M__á__laga and it’s practically impossible to find a residential building that doesn’t have a tourist rental key box”he wrote and then accused the city’s mayor, Paca de la Torre “don’t lift a finger for the residents of M__á__lag” and “drive them out of the city where they were born”.

Last November, a local journalist from a news website, “Local Spain” announced that Malaga was “Definitely busier than before during the off season”while confirming the existence of lockers “everywhere” and noting that restaurant prices have seen a huge increase in recent months.

What makes Málaga so popular with foreign visitors?

PUSH Costa del Sol, where the city of Málaga is located, has been extremely popular with tourists for years. In 2023, a record 14 million Spanish and foreign holidaymakers visited the island and many of them decided to make it their home.

Recent figures from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that eight out of ten new residents moving to Málaga are currently foreigners.

It is not only individuals who are changing the face of the city. Around 630 technology companies, including Google, have opened offices in Málaga, transforming it into the virtual Silicon Valley of Europe.

This has resulted in attracting thousands of international remote workers and digital nomads who are attracted by the heady combination of a pleasant working environment and a warm climate.

The inhabitants of Málaga, on the other hand, believe that enough is enough and that they feel excluded and alienated from their own city.

What other European destinations have battled over-tourism?

At the beginning of March, graffiti appeared in the Canary Islands, a Spanish territory, ordering tourists “Go back home”.

With year-round sunshine and a warm climate, the Canary Islands are still a popular destination for foreign visitors, and tourism is considered the island group’s main source of income.

One of the most popular islands, Tenerife, recently declared a water emergency. Some tourist areas use up to six times more water than residential areas, putting pressure on essential drinking water supplies and agriculture.

In February, on Gran Canaria, a neighboring island, walls were marked with messages “Tourists and Digital Nomads Go Home”what about newspapers “Canary Weekly” referred to as “tourismophobia”.

Last August in the Balearic Islands Majorcaresidents installed fake signs along several beaches that read: “Beware of dangerous jellyfish!”, “Beware of dangerous jellyfish” AND “Watch out for falling rocks.”

The signs, written in English, also included an explanation in small print in Catalan informing residents that the warnings were not real. Instead, the text read: “The problem is not falling rocks, but mass tourism” and “a beach open except to foreigners (guiris) and jellyfish.

Excessive tourism is not only a problem in Spanish territories.

Many European countries have introduced tourist taxes, including Venice, which has also banned cruise ships from entering its endangered canal system.

In Amsterdam, authorities and residents have been trying for months to encourage drunken tourists – mainly Britons – to stay away. In Kyoto, Japan, roads were closed to prevent the city from becoming an “amusement park”.

Other top tourist destinations are begging tourists not to go there because many simply don’t have the infrastructure to accommodate them.

Hawaii is on many people’s bucket list destinations, but it still suffers from understaffed hotels, congested roads and 90-minute wait times at restaurants as tourists continue to arrive in droves.

While the problem appears to be global, it is Spain that is leading the fight at the local level.

Last year in Barcelona, ​​the graffiti read: “We’ll spit in your beer. Cheers!”. However, tourists still flow.

Euronews Travel has contacted Malaga’s tourism office for comment but has not yet received a response.