On Sunday, hundreds of people protested in Barcelona, Lisbon, and Naples, demanding a stop to what they refer to as the “touristification” of their cities. But why are vacationers such a cause of conflict?
The Director of Economic Intelligence, Policy and Competitiveness at UN Tourism, Sandra Carvão, told Euronews that “more disposable income among the middle classes in many countries…more accessible travel in terms of air capacity but also in terms of air fares” and “border crossing facilities that have changed radically over the decades” are the main reasons for the recent surge in mass tourism.
In 2024, there will be over 747 million foreign visitors, up from 416 million in 2005, according to UN Tourism. However, visitor arrivals in Italy decreased by 10.5% over the same period.
Positively, the increase in tourists creates employment and income for the tourist areas. There are a tonne of jobs created by this industry since it is an employment-intensive one. According to Carvão, “more than 80% of tourism businesses are SMEs, and women hold more than 50% of these jobs.”
UN Tourism estimates Spain received €80 billion from foreign visitors in 2023. In 2023, France made €61 billion from foreign visitors, while Italy and Portugal made €47 and €23 billion, respectively.
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