THOUSANDS of anti-tourism protesters flooded the streets of Spain today as ringleaders called for sabotage against holidaymakers.
Protesters were even urged to superglue the locks of holiday rentals to render them unusable and cause a nuisance.
These were the first mass anti-tourist protests of the year, following on from a string of furious demonstrations last summer.
Huge crowds across 40 different Spanish cities took to the streets to send a clear message that holidaymakers are not wanted.
Brits have been a particular target of the protests in the past, as we are amongst the most loyal visitors to sunny spots like Mallorca and Malaga.
Radical activists blared their grievances to the angry masses lining the streets.
They took aim at the “touristification” of Costa resorts.
Organisers say that the booming industry causes problems for locals – such as squeezing them out of the property market.
Lucia Vazquez, 23, who marched in Seville, said: “We feel defenceless because of tourism. They should start to control it more.”
A spokesman for the protest group Malaga Is For Living said: “Everything over the last few decades has been done to turn the centre of Malaga into a tourist amusement park that only benefits a few.”
Marta Orosa, another protestor, said: “Malaga’s city model is designed exclusively for tourists. Us locals, the cleaners, waitresses and other low-wage workers sustain the Costa del Sol brand.”
And tourist guide Lina Castillo, 23, said: “I can’t find a flat anywhere on the coast for less than €900 (£760) and we’re talking 50 square metres.”
After 2024’s summer of rage, plans for further mass protests in Spain have been brewing for months – with vows to again occupy beaches and “intensify” the hostility.
An open letter penned in March urged holidaymakers to stay away from Spain.
The letter read: “ENOUGH! STAY HOME! We do not need more tourists; in fact, you are the source of our problem. DO NOT COME.”
Pere Joan is the spokesperson and organiser for the Mallorca activist group Menys Turisme Més Vida – meaning “Less Tourism, More Life”.
He told the Mirror: “We hope to do the same and occupy the beaches in places that have a mass of tourists.”
The campaigner said: “We are demanding from local government to put restrictions on outsiders buying housing. We want taxes on empty houses.
EPAPeople protesting against tourists in the Canary Islands[/caption] AFPFlag-waving local residents beat drums and blew whistles as they wandered along the shoreline in Playa de las Americas[/caption] GettyThousands of people demonstrate against tourism policies in Tenerife[/caption]“We want control of illegal Airbnbs. One of our demands is to decrease the number of planes that come to Majorca.”
Joana Maria Estrany Vallespir, a leading member of an organisation called SOS Residents which co-wrote the letter, said: “This is like a war.”
Speaking to The Telegraph, the fuming anti-tourism campaigner said: “We wanted to open the consciousness of tourists.
“We ask them not to come because we cannot trust our politicians. We are trying to be polite, not aggressive, but we thought we had to say what we think.
There is a particular focus on sabotaging rental apartments this year, as locals attempt to reclaim control of the market.
A message on a campaign site reads: “Please vandalise all the locks you see. Go super glue mad.”
Below the post is a photo of several key boxes outside an apartment block in the Costa del Sol capital of Malaga.
Anti-tourist marches have been going on across Spain since last summer Read More Details
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