Protesters gathered in the Spanish city of Alicante on Wednesday to announce a march against overtourism, which is scheduled to start at the city’s bull ring at 19.30 local time on Saturday July 13th.
Protest group Alicante, ¿dónde vas? (Alicante, in which direction are you going?) has called on all alicantinos to join the protest for a “sustainable and fair future” for the city and province.
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“We don’t want Alicante to be another example of overtourism as other cities are,” said organiser María Cueva.
Alicante se levanta contra el turismo masivo: la manifestación de este sábado podría concentrar a más de 200 personas. 📢https://t.co/lf6tx1QZyi
— INFORMACION.es (@informacion_es) July 11, 2024
“This business model is resulting in more people living outside of the city and making neighbourhoods lose their soul”.
According to Cuevas, the reasons for the protest are “the weariness and exhaustion of residents” caused by the rise in rental prices, the increase in tourist apartments and the volume of traditional businesses and bars that are closing down and replaced by establishments that please tourists.
Following demos in the Canary Islands, the Balearics, Málaga, Seville, Madrid, Barcelona and other popular cities where residents feel like their living costs are spiking due to overtourism, it comes as no surprise that Alicante is next place in Spain to protest.
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More than 9.7 million foreigners visited the eastern province in 2023, more than five times the population (1.8 million).
There are 30 percent more short-term holiday lets in Alicante than a year ago, whilst long-term rentals for locals have increased by 12.2 percent in price during that period.
“We are not against tourism, we have all been tourists at some point,” Ignacio García, another protest group member, told journalists at the announcement.
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“But we do want to raise awareness, denounce the problems and propose solutions to mass tourism”.
The group stressed that there are parts of Alicante city centre where 90 percent of residential flats have been converted into Airbnb-style lets.
“The current tourism model has led to an unsustainable dependence for the local economy,” the group concluded during the press conference.
“This not only aggravates environmental crises, but also mainly benefits the business elite, leaving small businesses with very little to survive on”.
Alicante is the third province with the most foreign residents in Spain, and the one with the biggest British community (75,000+).
The province, which is part of the Valencian Community, houses numerous spots that are popular with tourists, from Benidorm to Calpe, Denia and Villajoyosa.
