Holiday hotspots where tourists are likely to face a hostile reception

Last weekend, angry Barcelona locals marched on the streets in a protest about over-tourism in the Spanish city.

Holidaymakers dining al fresco were sprayed with water guns and told that ‘balconing’ – the sometimes fatal act of jumping from one balcony to another – ‘is fun’ on signs.

Lots of Spanish locals are filled with anti-tourist sentiment and clearly want holidaymakers to stay away from their busiest cities and islands.

But are they alone? 

Here, we reveal the European destinations that are hostile to tourists or that make visiting a hassle…

Majorca and Menorca

In the Balearic Islands, locals seem to have had enough tourists.

In May, 10,000 people marched in Palma de Majorca against tourism. Residents blame foreigners for driving up property prices 250 per cent in a decade, while stagnant wages remain among the lowest in Spain.

Protests have blocked off some of the most Instagrammable beaches in Majorca – Caló des Moro cove and St Rapita beach – and one protest group suggested blockading Palma Airport this summer.

A Menorcan resort, Binibeca Vell, known as ‘Spain’s Mykonos’, has declared that it does not want visitors before 11am and after 8pm – and has even chained up its streets to prevent holidaymakers from entering or taking selfies. 

Hostility levels: 8/10

Athens

Anti-tourism fury has erupted in Athens, with locals mounting fierce demonstrations against ‘over-tourism’ and the rise of Airbnbs. Residents, on one occasion, chanted: ‘They are taking our houses while they live in the Maldives.’

Anti-tourist sentiment has also been revealed by disturbing graffiti.

One chilling message says ‘burn Airbnb’, while another, next to a picture of blazing towers, reads ‘tourists enjoy your stay in the cemetery of Europe’. Other messages sprayed on walls include ‘no tourists, no hipsters’ and ‘tourists go home’. There have also been instances of anti-tourist vandalism and arson.

Dimitri, a property developer who converts former warehouses into Airbnbs, explained why an excessive number of rentals could harm the city’s economy and erode the community’s fabric.

He said: ‘Eighty per cent of this neighborhood are Airbnbs. Tourists who come here want to see the Greek culture, so if no more Greeks are living here, tourists won’t want to come.’

Hostility levels: 9/10 

Barcelona

Tourists were sprayed with water guns on La Rambla and effectively sealed inside restaurants by furious anti-tourism protesters in Barcelona last weekend. Thousands of locals marched through the city centre telling visitors to ‘go home’.

Protestors’ signs mocked holidaymakers who had died falling from balconies and locals chanted ‘tourists out of our neighbourhood’ at people as they stopped in front of the entrances to hotels.

Barcelona has seen a number of incidents directed at tourists within the last decade. In 2017, for instance, protestors attacked a tour bus and slashed its tyres, leading to those inside fearing they were the victims of a terror attack.

The city plans to ban Airbnbs from 2028. 

Hostility levels: 8.5/10

Amsterdam

Amsterdam has turned its back on the tourists it once beckoned with cannabis cafes, boozy bar crawls and a red-light district.

Amsterdam’s 2023 campaign – dubbed ‘Stay Away’ – involved people seeing special warnings when they search for terms such as ‘stag party Amsterdam’ to discourage them from visiting. It was aimed predominantly at British men aged 18 to 35.

Other anti-tourist restrictions include a law that requires sex work businesses to close at 3am, time limits for when and where alcohol can be sold and €100 (£84.55/$107) fines for public cannabis smoking.

Hostility levels: 7/10

Venice

The sinking city is flailing under the fury of locals.

Venice now charges an entry fee of €5 (£4.23/$5.43) for day-trippers during the busiest periods. In April, when the new fee launched, demonstrators armed with signs and banners lined the historic canals of the Italian city to argue that the policy will be ineffective against overcrowding and simply turn the city into a ‘theme park’.

Hostility levels: 5/10

Split

Locals are less than pleased at a wave of rowdy behaviour that has come along with the growing touristic popularity of Split in Croatia.

Authorities have put extra provisions in place to prevent anti-social behaviour – including €300 (£253/$324) fines for urinating in public spaces, climbing on monuments, jumping in fountains or sleeping in public spots. Vomiting in public spaces could see you handed a €150 (£126/$162) levy.

Hostility levels: 2/10

The Canary Islands

In April, around 50,000 people protested in Tenerife – 200,000 across all Canary Islands – calling on authorities to limit tourist numbers.

Those who orchestrated mass anti-tourism protests issued a warning to British travellers as they vowed to target ‘main holidaymaker areas’ over the summer.

The campaigners claim that the huge influx of tourists to the island is causing major environmental damage, driving down wages and that so much housing has been turned into holiday rental accommodation that some locals are forced to live in tents and cars.

The seven islands have a record 220,000 short-let beds in March, a 40 per cent increase from 2022 and more than the combined resident population of Lanzarote, La Gomera and El Hierro.

Tourists who fly out this summer risk being caught in the crossfire of more demonstrations.

Hostility levels: 9/10

Santorini

This Greek island is one of the most popular in the Aegean but, it’s feeling the pressure as a population of just 15,000 grows to two million at the height of summer.

Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis noted that a cap on cruise ships would be put in place by 2025. Santorini appears otherwise fairly safe for tourists and travellers are unlikely to face hostilities.

Hostility levels: 2/10

Capri

As many as 16,000 tourists a day pour into the island of Capri in peak season, outnumbering the 12,900 residents.

‘Capri is becoming a dormitory for tourists,’ Teodorico Boniello, head of the local consumers’ association, told Reuters. ‘There are more people coming than we can cope with and families can’t set down roots because they can’t afford to stay.’

To help tackle the excess of tourists, the authorities have doubled the entry fee to the island from €2.50 (£2.11/$2.70) to €5 (£4.23/$5.40).

Hostility levels: 2/10

Corfu

On the Greek island Corfu, most umbrage is taken with specific issues such as waste management and the Erimitis hotel development rather than tourists as a whole.

Over 1.5million people fly into Corfu each year, but so far they remain unscathed by demonstrations.

Hostility levels: 3/10

France

France is the world’s most visited country. In 2022, it saw almost 80million visitors – while estimates suggest that more than 100million visited in 2023. There is some bad feeling towards holidaymakers. In Nice, for example, a local artist installed giant rat traps – with ice cream as bait – ‘to eradicate and eliminate the tourist pest’.

French tourism minister Olivia Gregoire plans to manage tourist numbers by capping them in the most popular places. 

Only 400 visitors will be allowed to enter the Sugiton coves in Marseille’s Calanques National Park each day and Bréhat island, off the northern coast of Brittany, is limited to 4,700 visitors.

Hostility levels: 2/10

The Algarve

Tourists in the popular southern Algarve risk fines ranging from €200 (£168) to €36,000 (£30,330) for anti-social behaviour, such as playing loud music or camping away from campsites. The levies aim to prevent tourists from disrupting or annoying fellow sunseekers – obey the rules and you should be fine.

Hostility levels: 2/10

Marbella

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An anti-tourism campaign in Marbella targeted cars with UK number plates by slashing their tyres and covering them in graffiti as fed-up locals told the British to ‘go back to your country’.

At least three vehicles were targeted on the resort’s exclusive Golden Mile in 2023. 

The crimes are evidence of strong anti-tourist sentiment in the Spanish city. UK expats in Marbella describe growing anger over ‘too many Brits in Spain’ by once ‘very friendly’ locals.

Hostility levels: 9/10