Protesters against overtourism take to streets of Europe
Thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe on Sunday to demonstrate against overtourism, firing water pistols at shop windows and setting off smoke in Barcelona, where the main protest took place.
"Your holidays, my misery," protesters chanted in the streets of Barcelona while holding up banners emblazoned with slogans such as "mass tourism kills the city" and "their greed brings us ruin."
Under the umbrella of the SET alliance -- Sud d'Europa contra la Turistitzacio, or Catalan for "Southern Europe against Overtourism" -- protesters joined forces with groups in Portugal and Italy, arguing that uncontrolled tourism was sending housing prices soaring and forcing people out of their neighborhoods.
Barcelona, a city of 1.6 million, drew 26 million tourists last year.
Authorities in the northeastern Spanish city said around 600 people joined the demonstration there, some firing water pistols or setting off colored smoke and putting stickers saying 'Neighborhood self-defense, tourist go home' on shop windows and hotels.
Outside one hotel, an agitated worker confronted the protesters saying he was "only working" and was not the venue's owner.
There were similar demonstrations in other parts of Spain including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian and Granada. Protests in Italy took place in cities including Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice, where locals oppose the construction of two hotels that will add around 1,500 new beds to the city, the organizers told Reuters.
In Barcelona, the city government said last year it would bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 to make the city more liveable for residents.
"I'm very tired of being a nuisance in my own city. The solution is to propose a radical decrease in the number of tourists in Barcelona and bet on another economic model that brings prosperity to the city," Eva Vilaseca, 38, told Reuters at Sunday's demonstration in Barcelona, dismissing the common counterargument that tourism brings jobs and prosperity.
International travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11 percent to $838 billion this year, with Spain and France among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Korea Herald
11 hours ago
- Korea Herald
Protesters against overtourism take to streets of Europe
Thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe on Sunday to demonstrate against overtourism, firing water pistols at shop windows and setting off smoke in Barcelona, where the main protest took place. "Your holidays, my misery," protesters chanted in the streets of Barcelona while holding up banners emblazoned with slogans such as "mass tourism kills the city" and "their greed brings us ruin." Under the umbrella of the SET alliance -- Sud d'Europa contra la Turistitzacio, or Catalan for "Southern Europe against Overtourism" -- protesters joined forces with groups in Portugal and Italy, arguing that uncontrolled tourism was sending housing prices soaring and forcing people out of their neighborhoods. Barcelona, a city of 1.6 million, drew 26 million tourists last year. Authorities in the northeastern Spanish city said around 600 people joined the demonstration there, some firing water pistols or setting off colored smoke and putting stickers saying 'Neighborhood self-defense, tourist go home' on shop windows and hotels. Outside one hotel, an agitated worker confronted the protesters saying he was "only working" and was not the venue's owner. There were similar demonstrations in other parts of Spain including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian and Granada. Protests in Italy took place in cities including Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice, where locals oppose the construction of two hotels that will add around 1,500 new beds to the city, the organizers told Reuters. In Barcelona, the city government said last year it would bar apartment rentals to tourists by 2028 to make the city more liveable for residents. "I'm very tired of being a nuisance in my own city. The solution is to propose a radical decrease in the number of tourists in Barcelona and bet on another economic model that brings prosperity to the city," Eva Vilaseca, 38, told Reuters at Sunday's demonstration in Barcelona, dismissing the common counterargument that tourism brings jobs and prosperity. International travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11 percent to $838 billion this year, with Spain and France among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists.
Korea Herald
4 days ago
- Korea Herald
US preparing to partially evacuate Iraq embassy over regional security risks, sources say
The US is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, US and Iraqi sources said on Wednesday. The four US and two Iraqi sources did not specify which security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4 percent. "The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad and this decision was made as a result of a recent review," White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations, without giving further details. A White House official said US President Donald Trump was aware of the move. A US official said the State Department had authorized voluntary departures from Bahrain and Kuwait. The US Embassy in Kuwait said in a statement earlier on Wednesday that it "has not changed its staffing posture and remains fully operational." The partial evacuations come at a moment of heightened tensions in a region already aflame after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider conflagration pitting the US and Israel against Iran and its allies. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail, and in an interview released on Wednesday, he said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand. Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that if Iran was subjected to strikes it would retaliate by hitting US bases in the region. The US has a military presence across the major oil-producing region, with bases in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a US official said. Another US official said that was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain — where the bulk of them are based. "The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) US Embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the US military is standing by if help is requested," a third US official said. Iraq's state news agency cited a government source as saying Baghdad had not recorded any security indication that called for an evacuation. Another US official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the US Embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual. Oil futures climbed $3 on reports of the Baghdad evacuation with Brent crude futures at $69.18 a barrel. Earlier on Wednesday Britain's maritime agency warned that increased tensions in the Middle East may lead to an escalation in military activity that could impact shipping in critical waterways. It advised vessels to use caution while traveling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Straits of Hormuz, which all border Iran. Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and its arch regional foe Iran, hosts 2,500 US troops although Tehran-backed armed factions are linked to its security forces. Tensions inside Iraq have heightened since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with Iran-aligned armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking US troops, though attacks have subsided since last year. Israel and Iran also twice exchanged fire last year — the first ever such direct attacks between the region's most entrenched enemies — with missiles and war drones hurtling across Iraqi airspace. Top US regional ally Israel has also struck Iran-linked targets across the region, including Iraqi armed groups operating both inside Iraq and in neighboring Syria. In recent months, the United States has deployed more military assets in the Middle East — including B-2 bombers, which have since been replaced, and extended the deployment of a second aircraft carrier, which has since departed. The next round of nuclear talks between Iran and the US are due in the coming days, with Iran expected to hand over a counterproposal after rejecting an offer by Washington. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a military threat has always been part of the US' negotiation tactics with Iran. 'Any military action against Iran, whether by the US or Israel, will have serious consequences,' the official warned. Iran's UN mission on Wednesday posted on X, "Threats of 'overwhelming force' won't change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and US militarism only fuels instability." The statement appeared to be a response to an earlier comment by US Army General Michael "Erik" Kurilla, the head of US Central Command, that he had provided the president with "a wide range of options" to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.
Korea Herald
7 days ago
- Korea Herald
Iran to present counterproposal to US, Trump says talks to resume
Iran said on Monday it will soon hand a counterproposal for a nuclear deal to the United States in response to a US offer that Tehran deems "unacceptable," while US President Donald Trump said talks would continue. Trump made clear that the two sides remained at odds over whether the country would be allowed to continue enriching uranium on Iranian soil. "They're just asking for things that you can't do. They don't want to give up what they have to give up," Trump told reporters at the White House. "They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment." Earlier, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran was preparing a counter-offer to the US proposal that was presented in late May. He said there was no detail about the timing of a sixth round of talks. While Trump said the next round of talks would take place on Thursday, a senior Iranian official and a US official said Thursday was unlikely. Following Trump's remarks, Baghaei said "based on recent consultations, the next round of Iran–US indirect negotiations is being planned for next Sunday in Muscat," according to the ministry's Telegram channel. The US official said the talks, led by US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, could be on Friday or Sunday, possibly in Oman or Oslo. "The US proposal is not acceptable to us. It was not the result of previous rounds of negotiations. We will present our own proposal to the other side via Oman after it is finalised. This proposal is reasonable, logical, and balanced," Baghaei said. "We must ensure before the lifting of sanctions that Iran will effectively benefit economically and that its banking and trade relations with other countries will return to normal." Reuters previously reported that Tehran was drafting a negative response to the US proposal. An Iranian diplomat said the US offer failed to resolve differences over uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, the shipment abroad of Iran's entire stockpile of highly enriched uranium and reliable steps to lift US sanctions. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dismissed the US proposal as against Iran's interests, pledging to continue enrichment on Iranian soil, which Western powers view as a potential pathway to building nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear programme is only for peaceful purposes. Trump said Iran was the main topic of a phone conversation he had on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu's office said the president had told him talks with Iran would continue at the end of the week. During his first term in 2018, Trump ditched a 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and six powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran's economy. Iran responded by escalating enrichment far beyond that pact's limits. Iran says the West has turned a blind eye to Israel's nuclear programme even while pushing against Iran's. Israel neither confirms nor denies that it has nuclear weapons. Baghaei said sensitive Israeli documents, which Iran has previously promised to unveil, would demonstrate "that parties constantly questioning Iran's peaceful nuclear program actively work to strengthen Israel's military nuclear program."
