Media: Residents of Southern European countries protest against tourists

August 28, 2024 13:40

Locals and activists have been hitting the streets in various cities across Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece, some armed with water guns and stickers telling tourists to go home, Report informs referring to Politico.

Governments, for their part, are less inclined to implement durable measures. For many EU countries, especially those in southern Europe, tourism is a key pillar of their economy: 11.3 percent for Croatia, and between 6 and 8 percent for Portugal, Greece, Spain and Italy, according to an analysis by Allianz.

After the pandemic all but halted tourism for two years, people eager to travel embarked on so-called “revenge tourism" — reaping back the trips they had missed out on.

In part due to tourism, Spain, Portugal, and Greece — long the laggards among Europe’s big economies — outperformed the rest of the EU in 2023. While GDP across the bloc rose at 0.5 percent, the economies of Portugal, Greece and Spain all posted rates above 2 percent.