South European activists join hands against mass tourism

Activists from over 14 southern European cities were grouped together to fight against the mass tourism activities in European cities and staged their protest in Barcelona.

The protesters urge the government to “establish limits to the tourist industry” and even promote its “decrease”. The activists demand government to reduce mass tourism programmes, as they create pollution, ecological imbalances and traffic congestion. The activists’ first action was to release a manifesto denouncing how mass tourism causes rents to soar, local shops to disappear, creates low wage jobs and generates pollution.

The rising number of International tourist arrivals to the European Union has reached over 538 million, as per the data collected by United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Home sharing programs from Airbnb has created fear among the citizens, as they fear housing shortage for local people. Carrying capacity and tourist traffic have to be strictly maintained by travel agencies and authorities, in order to minimise the effect of mass tourism. Meanwhile, Venice, on the other hand, has reduced cruise ship activities, with an increase in canal traffic followed by creating environmental imbalances like water pollution.