Protests against tourism have increased in frequency and size as tourist arrivals to popular destinations meet, and in some places surpass, pre-pandemic levels.
Hmm… Maybe, just maybe, the problem is not the tourists, but ever increasing rent?
I remember the first years of Airbnb - met a ton of lovely hosts, lived in their abodes with them in the next room. BnB alike. Now, Airbnb provides “hotels” which are in direct competition with long term rentals.
The difference is that tourists are not a somehow disadvantaged group. My livelihood isn’t endangered because I can’t go to a tourist spot in Spain somewhere without being heckled (though, when I actually was in Spain, everyone was nice, but Madrid isn’t that much of a tourist spot compared to others).
Also, in some cases, it isn’t “the rich” – I too love to point out the issues they cause – but sometimes, it’s just ordinary people hoping to make a quick buck buying up property to rent it out on AirBNB. Yes, it’s also rich foreigners getting property everywhere for themselves, which is a problem. But “the rich” don’t bother with AirBNB, they just build hotels, and these normally don’t compete with normal housing.
Because they vow to be rich too. If you wish away someone else’s Lamborgini, you’ll also have to give up your own dreams of owning a Lamborgini (Kit cars are better, but would be hard to pull off with the modern no right to repair mentality).
Hmm… Maybe, just maybe, the problem is not the tourists, but ever increasing rent?
I remember the first years of Airbnb - met a ton of lovely hosts, lived in their abodes with them in the next room. BnB alike. Now, Airbnb provides “hotels” which are in direct competition with long term rentals.
This is not a tourist problem, never has been.
Blaming who needs to be blamed is too much work. So let’s blame tourists, immigrants, minorities, etc. Doesn’t matter the country.
People are too fucking stupid and spineless to blame the rich.
The difference is that tourists are not a somehow disadvantaged group. My livelihood isn’t endangered because I can’t go to a tourist spot in Spain somewhere without being heckled (though, when I actually was in Spain, everyone was nice, but Madrid isn’t that much of a tourist spot compared to others).
Also, in some cases, it isn’t “the rich” – I too love to point out the issues they cause – but sometimes, it’s just ordinary people hoping to make a quick buck buying up property to rent it out on AirBNB. Yes, it’s also rich foreigners getting property everywhere for themselves, which is a problem. But “the rich” don’t bother with AirBNB, they just build hotels, and these normally don’t compete with normal housing.
Look, if this was about fucktards like Johnny Somali, I’d get it. But not every tourist is deserving of said treatment.
Because they vow to be rich too. If you wish away someone else’s Lamborgini, you’ll also have to give up your own dreams of owning a Lamborgini (Kit cars are better, but would be hard to pull off with the modern no right to repair mentality).
Crazy. I’d be OK with a Pinto if it meant my electric bill wasn’t $500.
Tourists are one source of the demand that drives up the rents. So yeah, they’re part of the problem.
A valid point. But how are you going to decrease the number of tourists?
Well, Bali authorities, for example, decided to decrease the number of tourists by allowing only wealthy tourists
https://asiatimes.com/2021/09/bali-wants-rich-not-poor-tourists-after-the-plague/
https://www.businessinsider.com/tourist-visa-bali-wealthy-digital-nomad-remote-work-10-years-2022-10
https://www.euronews.com/travel/2025/02/27/bali-floats-steep-daily-tourist-tax-amid-concerns-over-mass-tourism-and-unruly-visitors
So, is your suggestion similar to this - allow only extra rich people to places like Vienna, Barcelona, and Bali?
One solution would be to prohibit short term rentals for housing (airbnb etc), and funnel the tourists into hotels, to increase housing stock.
So come for the rich
It’s a gentrification thing.