People often dream of one day traveling the world, visiting places they’ve only read about in magazines and on the internet but have yet to witness with their own eyes, of getting the wildly mentioned “travel bug” and suddenly spending more time in a foreign land than their own abode.
With the added stress of today’s political and societal tug-of-war — and the lingering cabin fever many still feel from the 2020 global pandemic—people are itching now more than ever to jet off to unfamiliar places. However, they aren’t always being welcomed with open arms.
A Wet Send-Off
Locals of popular vacation destinations, such as Italy, Spain, and Portugal, have been protesting the influx of tourists that have been flooding their cities, making it nearly impossible for tourists to get around peacefully. Residents have had enough of the crowds, arguing that they’ve taken over highly sought-after spots, like historic museums and picture-worthy landmarks. Some have even taken drastic measures to shoo them away.
A recent article by the Associated Press underlined the unconventional and surprising lengths Barcelona, Spain, residents have gone to in order to rid summer tourists from their streets. As told in the piece by a Barcelona-based reporter, fed-up citizens have turned to children’s water guns and inexpensive squirt toys to ward off visitors from public areas.
A Viral Approach
The use of water guns in the city isn’t new, as they began appearing last July for patrons to stay cool during the rising summer temperatures. However, the seemingly innocent objects were reintroduced in April, though tourists became the new target for residents trying to get them to flee unwanted areas. The representative act went viral and has become a part of the international anti-tourism cause.
A particular instance where the water guns were drawn was near the favored sightseeing spot, La Sagrada Familia church, where a thousand toy-armed marchers were stopped by police while heading to the renowned attraction, spraying unsuspecting tourists along the way. They also chanted crude slogans and carried protest signs that read things like “One More Tourist, One Less Resident,” and “Tourist Go Home!”
According to the AP journalist who spoke with protestors, the guns symbolize their distaste for how the growing tourism industry is affecting their homelands, saying the message is more for the authorities than the visitors themselves. Similar demonstrations have also erupted in Majorca, San Sebastian, the Canary Islands, and Ibiza, among other locations (via The Telegraph).
Museum Meltdown
However, Spain isn’t the only country raising concerns over the increasing summer tourism consuming its cities. The Louvre Museum — considered the world’s most visited museum — shut its doors on June 16, 2025, due to a staff strike. Per another AP article, the overworked employees took a stand after swarms of out-of-towners made their job responsibilities too much to bear.
The strike initially set off during a routine internal meeting, where various staff members refused to man their usual posts, including ticketing, security, and gallery attendants, to challenge the inhumane working conditions. The museum has seldom shut its doors, especially without prior notice.
Even tourists have gotten annoyed with the mobs of people infiltrating the city’s must-see attractions. Some complained that they could barely see anything besides the backs of people’s heads and elbows while trying to capture a photo of Leonardo da Vinci’s famed Mona Lisa, which is perched in the museum’s largest room, Salle des États, visited by 20,000 onlookers a day.
The closure was only temporary, and the museum has since reopened, according to Afar. However, it still raises questions about whether another strike is on the horizon if things don’t change. According to the outlet, French President Emmanuel Macron proposed a plan to address overcrowding concerns months earlier, as it had been a long-standing issue.
His solutions include moving the Mona Lisa to a different room and making upgrades to the building’s aging infrastructure. The new exhibition space is reportedly expected to cost between $730 million and $830 million if enacted and will be financed entirely by the museum. However, this isn’t an overnight fix, as the project would likely take years to complete.
European Outrage
While France and Spain are the two most prominent tourist destinations in the world, according to Road Genius, Portugal and Italy are also feeling overwhelmed by the burgeoning tourist population. Sky News recently reported that anti-tourism protests have also broken out in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon, as well as in numerous Italian cities, including Venice, Milan, and Naples.
Many Europeans appear to be on the same page regarding the out-of-hand tourism industry, with one Barcelona native telling the outlet that social media and the accessibility of Airbnb might be to blame for the climbing number of visitors. However, Jaime Rodriguez de Santiago, Airbnb’s general director for Spain and Portugal, told the publication that he believed the problem had been brewing for decades.
As highlighted in an ABC News article, the protests also bring to light the growing issue of European residents and local businesses getting pushed out of tourist hotspots, with more short-term rentals and travel corporations taking over.
What This Means for Tourists
While tourists are legally allowed to enter these countries as they please, some places are putting their foot down to quell overcrowding. For one, local officials in Barcelona announced last summer that they would axe 10,000 permits for short-term residences by 2028, according to the AP. They also vowed to increase daily tourist taxes for cruise passengers in town for less than 12 hours.
Additionally, Venice hiked up its tourist entrance fees last spring, and in November 2024, Pompeii, Italy, capped the number of tourists who could visit the UNESCO World Heritage Site — a beloved international landmark.
Italy and Spain are currently under Level 2 travel advisories due to terrorism concerns, as per the State Department, which advises the public to “exercise increased caution.” Meanwhile, Portugal remains a Level 1 travel advisory, with no extra caution necessary. As for other parts of the world, such as Greece and Albania, which are also seeing an uptick in visitors (via The Telegraph), it may only be a matter of time before calls for change erupt there, too.