Anti-tourism Uprising: How Mexico City Joins With Barcelona, Venice, Mallorca, And Lisbon In Fighting Overtourism And Gentrification With Bold New Policies, You Need To Know

Published on August 15, 2025

By: Paramita Sarkar

In caller months, anti-tourism protests person escalated successful awesome cities worldwide, pinch Mexico City, Barcelona, Venice, Lisbon and Mallorca becoming hotbeds for discontent complete nan increasing effect of overtourism. Local residents are demanding that governments return contiguous action to reside gentrification, lodging shortages, biology degradation, and nan nonaccomplishment of taste identity, each of which they blasted connected unchecked tourism growth.

While these protests are portion of a broader, world backlash against nan tourism industry, each metropolis has its ain unsocial group of challenges and grievances. In response, section governments are stepping up pinch caller regulations and strategies to mitigate nan harm caused by excessive tourism.

But is it capable to curb nan tide of wide tourism? Here’s a person look astatine nan anti-tourism movements and what is being done to protect these destinations.

Mexico City’s Gentrification Crisis: Residents Battle Rising Rents and Displacement

Mexico City has agelong been a beloved destination for visitors and integer nomads seeking an affordable and vibrant taste hub. However, nan emergence successful gentrification has led to a backlash from locals who consciousness they are being pushed retired of their ain neighborhoods.

• The Impact of Gentrification:In neighborhoods for illustration Roma, Condesa, and Polanco, long-time residents are uncovering themselves incapable to spend rent arsenic overseas expatriates, integer nomads, and visitors flood nan area. This influx has driven up spot prices, starring to nan displacement of susceptible populations who are being forced to move to nan outskirts of nan city.
  
• Protests Against Rising Rents: In response, residents person organized a bid of protests successful nan bosom of nan capital, urging nan authorities to measurement successful and modulate rent prices. Protesters are besides calling for stronger laws to protect tenants from eviction and to reside nan increasing power of short-term picnic rentals, which they judge exacerbate nan problem.
  
• Government Action: In an effort to reside these concerns, Mexico City has implemented nan Bando 1 strategy, which intends to power rent prices and modulate short-term rentals. While these measures are a measurement successful nan correct direction, critics reason that they don’t spell acold capable to tackle nan guidelines causes of gentrification and that actual actions are still needed.
  

Barcelona: Fighting Overcrowding and Rising Costs Amid Tourism Surge

Barcelona, 1 of Europe’s apical tourer destinations, has been astatine nan forefront of nan anti-tourism activity for years. While nan metropolis thrives connected its tourism revenue, residents person go progressively disappointment pinch nan antagonistic impacts of wide tourism, including overcrowded streets, higher surviving costs, and nan nonaccomplishment of authentic taste experiences.

• Overtourism successful Action: Barcelona’s historical districts, specified arsenic nan Gothic Quarter and El Born, person been inundated pinch tourists. In caller years, protests person erupted arsenic section residents request that nan metropolis do much to protect their measurement of life. Issues for illustration overcrowding, nan power of concatenation stores complete section businesses, and skyrocketing rent prices person made it progressively difficult for locals to stay successful their ain neighborhoods.
  
• Tourist-Fueled Gentrification: One of nan biggest issues is nan summation successful short-term picnic rentals, peculiarly done platforms for illustration Airbnb. These rentals person driven up rents and displaced section residents. In response, nan authorities has introduced stricter regulations connected short-term rentals, limiting nan number of licenses issued and restricting rental periods.
  
• Protest Actions: The protests successful Barcelona person been dramatic, pinch immoderate protesters spraying visitors pinch h2o pistols to symbolize nan vexation of locals. The extremity is to bring attraction to nan overwhelming beingness of visitors successful areas that were erstwhile vibrant and authentic neighborhoods.
  
• Government Response: The metropolis has besides introduced a Tourist Accommodation Plan, which seeks to modulate and limit short-term rentals. Barcelona’s strategy intends to equilibrium nan needs of residents pinch nan city’s dependence connected tourism. However, location is still a agelong measurement to spell to guarantee that tourism benefits everyone equally, not conscionable those who profit from it.
  

Venice: Battling Mass Tourism and Environmental Damage

Venice, known for its canals and humanities landmarks, has go a awesome of nan dangers of overtourism. The city’s delicate infrastructure and vulnerable situation are struggling to header pinch nan millions of visitors that flood its streets each year.

• Cruise Ship Controversy: One of nan astir contentious issues successful Venice is nan presence of monolithic cruise ships, which bring thousands of visitors into nan metropolis each day. These ships person been blamed for contributing to biology degradation, overcrowding, and nan deterioration of nan city’s taste heritage.
  
• Venetians Protest for Preservation: Locals successful Venice person protested for years against nan effect of wide tourism, peculiarly nan cruise ships that dock astatine nan city’s celebrated terminals. In consequence to these protests, nan authorities has begun limiting nan number of cruise ships allowed to dock successful Venice, successful an effort to trim nan biology harm caused by ample vessels.
  
• Sustainable Tourism Initiatives: Venice has besides implemented an introduction interest for tourists, charging visitors who are day-tripping to nan city. This inaugural is designed to limit nan number of short-term visitors and promote longer stays that use nan section system without overwhelming nan infrastructure.
  

Mallorca: A Call for Responsible Tourism to Protect Local Life

The Spanish land of Mallorca has go a hotspot for tourists, starring to a accelerated emergence successful prices and nan erosion of section culture. Activists are asking visitors to reconsider walking during highest seasons to trim nan strain connected section resources.

• Gentrification and Housing Shortages: As nan number of visitors to Mallorca has grown, truthful person nan consequences of overtourism. In areas for illustration Palma, nan capital, long-time residents person been forced to move further distant from nan metropolis center, while wealthier visitors and expatriates person moved into premier residential areas. This gentrification is starring to nan nonaccomplishment of nan authentic characteristic of neighborhoods, arsenic section businesses are replaced by tourist-centric establishments, further driving up prices.

• Key Policy Action: Mallorca’s authorities and activistic groups person urged visitors to sojourn successful nan offseason to debar overcrowding. Additionally, section businesses are being encouraged to adopt much sustainable practices that use some nan situation and nan section economy.

• Portugal’s Struggle pinch Short-Term Rentals: In Portugal, nan emergence of short-term picnic rentals has been a awesome issue. Local governments person responded by implementing caller regulations to headdress nan number of tourer accommodations successful residential neighborhoods, aiming to protect affordable lodging for locals.

Lisbon: Tackling Short-Term Rentals and Rising Rents

In Lisbon, nan emergence successful short-term picnic rentals has driven up lodging costs and displaced galore residents. Similar to different cities, nan readiness of affordable lodging has diminished arsenic properties are converted into profitable tourer accommodations.

• Key Policy Action: Lisbon is taking action by regulating short-term rentals and offering incentives to section businesses to attraction connected sustainable, year-round tourism that benefits nan section population. The purpose is to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt nan tourism system and nan needs of nan section community.

• The Call for Off-Season Tourism: Local activists, on pinch businesses, are pushing for a displacement successful tourism patterns, advocating for off-season recreation arsenic a solution. Encouraging visitors to travel during nan quieter months, alternatively than nan highest summertime season, would easiness nan unit connected section services, trim overcrowding, and thief protect nan environment.

• Encouraging Responsible Travel: As successful Mallorca, residents and section businesses successful Lisbon are advocating for much responsible tourism. Tourists are encouraged to enactment successful hotels alternatively than short-term picnic rentals, shop astatine section markets, and support family-run businesses. In addition, visitors are urged to recreation during nan off-season, reducing nan unit connected nan metropolis during highest recreation months.

How Can Tourists Make a Positive Impact?

As protests against overtourism proceed to summation momentum, it’s important for visitors to adopt much responsible recreation habits. Here’s really you tin help:

• Stay successful Hotels Instead of Short-Term Rentals:
  Opting for hotels alternatively of picnic rentals helps sphere nan readiness of semipermanent lodging for locals. It besides supports nan section system much directly.
• Support Local Businesses:
  By shopping and eating astatine small, locally-owned businesses, you lend to nan organization and trim nan economical power of ample corporations that whitethorn not prioritize section interests.
• Travel Off-Season and Stay Longer:
  Slower, off-season recreation helps equilibrium nan request for tourism and ensures that mini businesses tin thrive year-round. Longer stays let visitors to immerse themselves successful nan section culture, which tin beryllium much sustainable for some nan situation and nan economy.
• Respect Local Culture and Traditions:
  Learn astir nan culture, history, and customs of nan places you visit. Engaging respectfully pinch section traditions and learning a fewer words successful nan section connection tin thief sphere nan authenticity of nan destination.

A Call for Responsible Travel

Cities for illustration Mexico City, Barcelona, Venice, Mallorca, and Lisbon are facing nan harsh realities of overtourism, pinch section residents and activists demanding change. While protests against gentrification and overcrowding continue, governments are implementing measures to protect their communities and sphere nan principle of these beloved destinations. As tourists, we tin each play a portion by adopting responsible recreation practices, supporting section businesses, and ensuring that our recreation choices don’t lend to nan problems already facing these cities.

By walking much consciously, we tin thief sphere nan taste integrity of these cities and guarantee that they stay vibrant and welcoming for early generations.