Every year millions of holidaymakers visit the Costa de Sol and one of its most popular tourist destinations, Malaga, but now locals are saying they’ve had enough.
advertisement
Malaga residents are unhappy with the increasing influx of tourists and are now making their feelings clear.
Walls and doors in Spanish city centres are plastered with stickers expressing how residents feel about visitors.
Walking the streets of Málaga you’ll see graffiti like this, ranging from the more benign such as “This used to be my home” (antes esta era mi casa) and “This used to be the city centre” (antes esto era el centro) to more explicit statements such as “Fuck you, go home” (a tu puta casa) and “You smell like a tourist” (apestando a turista).
Why are Malaga locals so angry about tourists?
This city on the Costa del Sol has long been a popular destination for tourists thanks to its sunny climate and relatively low cost of living, but more recently it has become even more attractive for holidaymakers and digital nomads alike.
Many locals have had enough: Dani Dranco, owner of Malaga’s popular Drunkorama bar, has started a “sticker initiative,” printing out favorite anti-tourist phrases shared by regulars and posting them around the city.
In an interview with local newspaper Diario Sur, Durnko explained that he started the movement after being “evicted” from the home he had lived in for 10 years.
He claimed the landlords refused to negotiate the rent or even sell the property because they planned to turn it into a short-term rental for tourists.
“There’s been a lot of uproar because locals are fed up with the situation. I just suggested the idea for the slogan and provided the catalyst, and now others are joining in,” Drunco told Diario Sur.
“Malaga city centre has been in such a state of decline for so long that if something breaks in my bar, for example, there is no hardware store on hand to buy something because tourists visiting don’t need to buy screws,” he added.
Local politician Dani Pérez took to X (formerly Twitter) to add his voice to the growing discontent.
“Walking around the streets of Malaga, it is virtually impossible to find a house without a lockbox. [for tourist rentals]” he wrote, going on to accuse Malaga’s mayor, Paco de la Torre, of “not lifting a finger for the people of Malaga” and “expelling them from the city where they were born.”
Last November, a local reporter for news site The Local Spain reported that Malaga was “definitely busier than before, even in the off-season”, noted the presence of lockboxes “everywhere” and commented that restaurant prices had increased significantly in recent months.
Why is Malaga so popular with foreign tourists?
Spain’s Costa del Sol, where Málaga is located, has long been a huge tourist destination. In 2023, it is expected to attract a record 14 million holidaymakers from both Spain and abroad, with a significant number of them deciding to make the city their base.
According to the latest figures from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE), eight out of every 10 new residents moving to Malaga are now foreigners.
But it’s not just individuals that are changing the face of the city: some 630 technology companies, including Google, have opened offices in Málaga, turning it into a sort of European Silicon Valley.
The result is a chain reaction that has drawn thousands of international remote workers and digital nomads, attracted by the attractive combination of comfortable working conditions and warm weather.
But Malaga locals, who feel they have been pushed out and alienated by rising prices from their home city, have had enough.
What other European destinations have resisted overtourism?
In early March, graffiti appeared in the Spanish Canary Islands ordering tourists to “go home.”
advertisement
With its year-round sunshine and warm climate, the Canary Islands have always been a popular destination for foreign tourists, and tourism is considered the islands’ largest source of income.
One of the most popular islands, Tenerife, recently declared a water emergency, making things even worse for locals, with some tourist areas on the island consuming up to six times more water than residential areas, putting pressure on vital water resources for drinking and agriculture.
In February, a message was carved into a wall on the nearby island of Gran Canaria reading “Tourists and digital nomads go home”, in what Canary Weekly newspaper described as a “tourist scare”.
Last August, residents on the Balearic island of Mallorca put up fake signs along several beaches with warnings such as “Watch out for dangerous jellyfish” and “Watch out for falling rocks.”
The signs were all in English, but also contained explanations in smaller Catalan, assuring locals that the warnings were false: “The problem is not falling rocks, it’s mass tourism” and “The beach is open except for foreigners (Gilis) and jellyfish.”
advertisement
But overtourism is not just a problem on Spanish territory.
Many European countries have introduced tourist taxes, including Venice, which has banned cruise ships from its imperiled canal system.
In Amsterdam, authorities and locals have been urging people for months to stay away from drunk, mainly British tourists, and in Kyoto, Japan, roads have been closed to prevent the city from turning into a “theme park.”
Other popular tourist destinations have pleaded with people not to visit, saying they don’t have the infrastructure to accommodate tourists.
Hawaii is on many people’s bucket lists, but the influx of tourists has led to problems including hospitality worker shortages, congested roads and 90-minute waits at restaurants.
advertisement
While the issue certainly appears to be a global one, it is Spain that is leading the grassroots response.
Graffiti painted in Barcelona last year read: “Spitting in beer. Cheers!” but tourists continue to flock there.
EuronewsTravel has contacted Malaga’s Tourist Board for comment but has not yet received a response.
