Latest news with #overTourism
BBC News
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Pictures from Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez wedding for Venice
Lauren Sanchez, 55, wear one lace Dolce & Gabbana haute couture gown for her wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. Camera capture her dey smile togeda wit Bezos, 61, after di ceremony, for one picture dem post on Instagram. Reality stars, actors, royals and some ogbonge A-listers travel to Venice for di ogbonge wedding of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and TV presenter Lauren Sanchez. Oprah Winfrey, Orlando Bloom, Kylie Jenner and Ivanka Trump be some of di celebrities wey camera catch for boats and streets of di Italian city on Thursday and Friday. Di ceremony dey expected to last three days, ending with one big party for di married couple and dia hundreds of guests on Saturday. Di event bin attract protests from some groups for Venice, including locals wey fight over-tourism to climate change activists. An estimated 200 pipo bin dey invited to Friday ceremony on di small island of San Giorgio, wia Matteo Bocelli - son of Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli - perform according to reports. While di exact cost of di wedding no dey known, di estimates range from $20m (£14m) to more dan $50m.
Daily Mail
23-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Shocking moment woman is knocked out after being hit in the head with a chair while brawl breaks out at an Ibiza hotel poolside
A chaotic poolside brawl broke out at a hotel in Ibiza leaving one woman unconscious after she was hit in the head with a chair. Raging tourists holidaying at the Marco Polo hotel in San Antonio started aggressively yelling at each other. One women then suddenly dropped to the floor after being walloped by a plastic chair. Despite her collapse the fight continued while she lay on the ground unmoving. During the fall, she collided with one of the instigators, who subsequently fell in the pool. In another act of aggression, a chair was thrown at a second man, and the impact resulted in him also falling into the pool. The two men in the pool continued to verbally fight with a pair standing poolside. Outraged, one of them grabbed another chair and slammed it down on the head of the first man that fell in the pool. Raging tourists holidaying at the Marco Polo hotel in San Antonio started yelling at each other A group of lifeguards and security attempted to intervene but were ignored. Instead, the two hurt tourists remained in the pool while their opposition continuously mocked them. The viral video was captioned: 'The chaos was temporary. The memories? Permanent.' One user commented: 'Can smell the Stella, Joop and British passports from here.' It comes as thousands of locals marched across Spain last week to tell Brits to 'go home' as part of widespread protests against so-called 'over tourism'. Activists claim more than 30,000 people took to the streets of Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza to voice their frustrations about the impact of tourism on the island. Protesters were heard chanting slogans against Airbnb and 'guiris' - the Spanish slang term used to describe Brits and other foreigners. Footage shows Brits visibly shocked by the demonstrations, while some tourists were seen taking refuge on their accommodation balconies.
Daily Mail
22-06-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Benidorm's battle lines: How tourist town is split in two with Spanish holidaymakers avoiding Brits like the plague
Locals in Benidorm have revealed how Spanish tourists avoid Brits in the town at all costs and branded them 'rude and disrespectful'. For many Brits, Benidorm is the neon lights of late night bars, cheap pints in the sun, raucous stag parties and football on big screens. But for Spanish holidaymakers flocking to the Costa Blanca for a relaxing getaway visitors from the UK are the very symbol of the scurge of over-tourism. The battle lines in Benidorm are drawn between the traditional quaint streets of the 'Old Town' where native visitors go to unwind and the buzzing pub-packed strips of 'the New Town' where Brit drinkers party the night away. Stephen Critzov, who has lived and worked in Benidorm for three years, told MailOnline: 'The British stay in one area and the Spanish stay in one area.' While Ariadna Perez, 22, who works at an ice cream shop in the old town, said the tourist divide keeps Benidorm peaceful. She said: 'I want them [the Brits] to stay away from this area, not many people like the British tourists. 'Some British tourists are rude they're drunk and sometimes they're very rude and disrespectful.' Ms Perez's distaste towards Brits comes as anti-tourism protests have been raging across the country. This month, thousands marched to tell Brits to 'go home' as part of widespread protests against so-called 'over tourism'. One of their biggest issues is that as the tourism industry has grown in Spain, the demand for BnBs and holiday accommodation has risen, causing rent for locals to soar. Meanwhile, other protesters have taken matters into their own hands - spraying British tourists with water guns in the middle of the day. While Brit holidaymakers in Benidorm are yet to be soaked by rampaging protesters - the sentiment is shared. Hotel receptionist Gosec Torres said: 'I think tourists now are not the right tourists it has to change 'The flats are mostly for tourists and the people that are working here have no flats. 'The British when they're drunk they're not good.' Alex Perez, 37, who has lived and worked in Benidorm his whole life, said the behaviour from a certain 'type' of British tourist attracted to the 'New Town' has gone significantly downhill in recent years. He said: 'It's gotten worse in the last 10 years or so. The main issue is they've started bringing stag dos and turning it into Magaluf in general, it's been really bad. 'It used to be more families and now it's drugs and drugs on drugs. 'They're not respectful, you can see them straight away they're p****** everywhere and walking across the streets with drinks. 'I don't have anything against the Brits but the ones who come to this area are the worst.' Ana Cordero, who works in the local pharmacy in 'New Town', has to begrudgingly deal with British tourists everyday. 'This is a very delicate area, our opinion is there are different types of tourists,' she cautiously explained. 'We have the young people that come for weddings and they are rowdy. 'First of all we have to tell them please get dressed inside our chemist they never have a t-shirt. 'They have wee'd outside our shop and some days when we come in the morning we find a surprise. 'They drink a lot a lot a lot. But this is how we live from tourist people, it has changed in the last 10 years the type of tourists. We want the old tourists but every hotel must be full. ' Robert Topolewski, who has lived and worked in 'New Town' Benidorm for decades, said the tourist demographic used to be the same as the 'Old Town'. He explained: 'The first time I was in Spain we used to have cabaret and it was couples who were well dressed now we have groups. 'The Spanish were very well dressed sitting with one tonic water back in the day, then they changed it all for the British because there's more money to be made.' And while locals benefit off the money that British tourism brings, Brits who have moved to the area for a better life feel it's ruining their reputation among their new Spanish neighbours. 'They create a very bad reputation I get a lot of s*** off everyone in school there's a stereotype of English being drug addicts alcoholics fat noisy fighting all the time,' explained Millie Redrup, 17, who moved to Benidorm with her family four years ago. 'They have a very bad name because there are a lot of bad ones. 'Oh my god they're like tornados just this morning I had some boy passed out in one of my columns he was pissed just finished partying at 10am. 'The Spanish hate the English tourists but without the tourists the economy would crash.' And much to the dismay of Spanish locals, the Brits abroad consider Benidorm a home away from home and have no intention of holidaying elsewhere. Wendy Carhartt, 56, from Plymouth said: 'We keep your economy going and you in business. 'If anyone sprays me with water you get a fist. 'I'll be honest we come from Plymouth and we can be a bit anti our own people coming to our neck of the woods but at end of the day people's jobs depend on it so you can't have the best of both worlds. 'Without tourism Benidorm would die. You say Benidorm to anybody in England they know where it is.' Susan Willis from Cheshire visits Benidorm every year, and while she understands why the Spanish are unhappy, she thinks British tourists aren't that bad. She said: 'I'm on the Spanish side people do take over once they get in but at the same time it's not our fault it's the government who should do something about it to stop selling. 'We come here for a fortnight every year and we have a nice time and we find the Spanish people friendly. 'I wouldn't like to be sitting and having a meal and have someone squirt water at me it's rude I wouldn't dream of doing that in my country. 'I can see how they've had enough but it's not our fault we just come here to spend our money.' Tourism is the biggest industry in Benidorm and several locals that work here want 'generous' Brits to continue to visit. Carolina Dip, who works at a cafe in the 'Old Town' said: 'I like the tourists because they're very generous. 'For me the best tourists are the English. They are very nice very happy and very generous.' Mr Galera even wants to see more Brits daring to set foot in the 'Old Town'. 'We prefer English tourists in our bar because Spanish people are saving their money they won't tip and English tourists drink and tip,' he added. Meanwhile, Ash Copus who moved to the seaside town from Milton Keynes five years ago, thinks the relationship between the Spanish and the British in the area is evolving. He said: 'Brits love the sun and cheap drinks. No matter where you go you get a bad bunch. 'The Spanish think we're crazy they think we're mad because we can drink in the sun sitting in the sun all afternoon, you wouldn't see a Spanish person sitting in the sun in the afternoon. 'We do get on though, Covid was massive, Spanish before Covid were going against Brits but after it's made a huge difference because they needed Brits for their businesses to survive.' So can you expect to be sprayed with a water gun when visiting Benidorm? It's unlikely. But in order to keep the peace, it may be worth sticking to the designated Brit zone.
Telegraph
17-06-2025
- Telegraph
Anti-tourism is spreading across Europe. This is where it will hit next
Over the weekend, southern Europeans took to the streets to protest against mass tourism. It's a familiar scene, but this time, the demonstration was different. For the first time, groups across Spain, Italy and Portugal took to the streets to demonstrate on a single day. It was the biggest coordinated anti-tourism protest in history. The protests spanned Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Malaga, San Sebastián, Lisbon, Granada, Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice. A couple of weeks ago, thousands took to the streets across the Canary Islands, too. It feels like it's all coming to a head. But were a documentary to be made chronicling the European fight against 'over-tourism' this would not be the climactic scene. We are, dare I say it, at the very beginning. This is how I see things playing out over the next decade. For once, the French will not join the protest The French like to protest. If there was a nationwide desire to join a trans-continental demonstration, you can bet that they would have done so already. So why haven't they? Anthony Peregrine, Telegraph Travel's France expert, suggests one reason could be the type of tourists that France is dealing with: 'France simply doesn't attract quite so many of the people who, bottles in hand, disturb decent locals at 2.30am. 'There is, of course, poor behaviour on the Riviera but it's mainly by millionaires and they have a way of getting themselves indulged,' he says. Anna Richards, a travel writer based in Lyon, added: 'I think [the lack of anti-tourism protests] is because the French themselves holiday so much within their own country, so the tourism industry is set up to handle large numbers of visitors. 'Also, although there are hotspots that suffer from over-tourism – places like Étretat in Normandy, for example – people don't just flock to one area of France. Its attractions are numerous and well spread out.' I suspect we might see some isolated protests (I gather there's a group in Marseille) but I don't think there will be anything quite on the scale of the Spanish movement, at least any time soon. ...but the Greeks will, eventually Some of the fiercest and loudest of the anti-tourism protests have been those on islands – namely the Canaries and the Balearics – which begs the question: why haven't the Greek islands a little further east in the Mediterranean joined in? The signs of discontent are there. In 2023, during the 'beach towel revolt' residents on the Greek island of Paros marched on Parikia Beach and held up a sign saying 'Reclaim the Beach' in protest against the over-development of their coastline. In the subsequent days, these protests spread across the Greek islands and even into Turkey – a sign, along with 'tourists go home' graffiti cropping up in Athens, that there is a sense of frustration bubbling under the surface. Heidi Fuller-Love, The Telegraph's Greece expert who has her ears close to the ground on these things, says: 'There are rumblings, but since so many people rely on tourism (on a low income), so far there hasn't been much more.' Tourists will become the target Last July, protesters in Barcelona sprayed tourists with water pistols – the first time on record that tourists had been 'assaulted' (to use the term very loosely) in such a way. At last weekend's protests, water pistols were ubiquitous in the city once again. These plastic toys, it is fair to say, are fast becoming the symbol of resistance in Southern Europe. I think this sort of direct action will become much more popular. Last year, a protest group occupied a popular beach in Mallorca and erected signs that said 'Beach Closed'. On another, a sign read 'Beware of Dangerous Jellyfish'. Locals in the Menorcan village of Binibeca Vell resorted to chaining up the access roads to prevent tourists from getting in. There was also the quite comical sight of locals walking back and forth across a zebra crossing in Galicia to stop tourists from accessing a beach. The longer that policymakers ignore the messages of these groups, the more creative their actions will become. British tourists will refuse to boycott Spain Certain news outlets are in the habit of suggesting that British holidaymakers are boycotting popular holiday spots in Spain. Bookings are down, hotels are struggling. That's the narrative. My hunch has been that this is rubbish, and The Telegraph's expert Anna Nicholas (who lives in Sóller, Mallorca) confirms this to be the case, in her home town at least. 'It has been suggested that a boycott of Mallorca is underway, with British holidaymakers in particular said to be steering clear. Nothing could be further from the truth,' she writes. 'The island has never been busier.' Joana Maria Estrany Vallespir, a leading voice in the protest group SOS Residents in Mallorca, tells me: 'What we've seen is that the situation has worsened on every level. We are going to have 20 million visitors this year – the tourist season started earlier than ever before.' The British have been travelling to the Spanish islands and beaches for our holidays for half a century now. So long as package holiday prices remain low, it will take more than a few disgruntled locals with water pistols to break that habit. A word on Albania Where will be the next battleground, looking a little further into the future? I suspect that while discontent will rumble on in Spain, Italy and Portugal (and perhaps Greece, and pockets of France), we will eventually see Albanians join the demo. In 2023, Albania recorded 9.7m visitors, up 58.3 per cent from 6.1m in 2019. The prime minister, Edi Rama, has set the goal of attracting 30m foreign visitors by 2030. If they get anything close to that number, life will change immeasurably in Albania. More traffic, less beach space for locals, high-rise hotels lining the coast (they're already being erected) and – crucially – they can expect to see local landlords cashing in by listing their properties on sites like Airbnb and Vrbo. While there will be new jobs created and certain 'winners' in the industry, the population at large will wonder what happened to their beautiful home.
The Independent
16-06-2025
- The Independent
Tourists face a soaking this summer as locals find their protest symbol
In Barcelona, a group of tourists found themselves the targets of an unusual form of protest when a woman armed with a plastic water gun sprayed them as they sat at an outdoor table. This incident highlights a growing trend in Spain, where locals are increasingly using water guns to voice their concerns about the impact of over- tourism on their communities. The water gun, once a harmless toy, has now become a symbol of resistance against the pressures of mass tourism in the country. The phenomenon started last July, when a fringe, left-wing activist group based in Barcelona that promotes the 'degrowth' of the city's successful tourism sector held its first successful rally. Some brought water guns to shoot one another and stay cool in the summer heat. 'What happened later went viral, but in reality it was just kind of a joke by a group of people who brought water guns because it was hot," Adriana Coten, one of the organizers of Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth, told The Associated Press. Then, some turned their water guns from each other to tourists. The images went around the world, becoming a publicity coup for the anti-tourism cause. The guns reappeared in April when the same group stopped a tour bus in Barcelona, the Catalan capital. On Sunday, around a thousand people marched from a luxury shopping boulevard popular with affluent foreigners before police stopped them from getting closer to Barcelona's top sight-seeing destination: La Sagrada Familia church. The marchers spritzed unsuspecting tourists along the way, chanting slogans and carrying protest signs. One read: 'One more tourist, one less resident!' They left a trail of stickers on hotel doors, lampposts and outdoor café tables showing a squirting water gun encircled by a message in English: 'Tourist Go Home!' Still, the number of Barcelona protesters carrying water guns was a minority — and in the gun-toting group, many were only shoot in the air or at each other. One dad was toting his baby in a front-pack, water gun in hand. Can the water gun really change the minds of tourists, authorities or the businesses that drive the industry? Depends on who you ask. Protester Lourdes Sánchez and her teenage daughter, each holding a water gun, said the gun "really isn't to hurt anyone.' 'This is a symbol to say that we are fed up of how tourism industry is transforming our country into a theme park,' Sánchez said. Another demonstrator, Andreu Martínez, acknowledged it was 'to bother the tourists a bit." Laurens Schocher, a 46-year-old architect, said he didn't shoot any suspected tourists but hoped that carrying a water gun would bring more attention to their cause. 'I don't think the tourists will get it," he said. "I think this is to send a message to authorities.' The marchers had no monster, pump-action water cannons most kids use for backyard battles in the summer. Theirs were the old-school, cheap-o water guns that send a slim jet of water not that far away. Some tourists who were sprayed took it in stride, even claiming it was refreshing on a day with temperatures pushing up to around 30 degrees Celsius (87 Fahrenheit). But there were moments of tension. When several marchers squirted workers at a large hostel, tempers flared and one worker spat at his attackers as the slammed the hostel door shut. Nora Tsai, who had just arrived from Taiwan on a short visit, was among those doused on Sunday. She said she was a bit frightened and saddened. The 'Tourist go home!" chants didn't help either. 'I still like Barcelona," she said. "I have met a lot of people who were kind.'
