Tourism can be both a blessing and a curse for people living in popular holiday destinations.
Some holiday hotspots beloved by foreign tourists have started listening to complaints made by locals who struggle to live comfortably in their cities due to rising prices, overcrowding and the rise of second homes and Airbnb spaces.
Venice, the Italian lagoon, is often used as a prime example of a city overrun by tourists. Locals, however, are fighting back and have been calling for strict rules regulating the number of tourists that can enjoy their canals, pushed back against the Disneyfication of their historic city and fought against massive cruise ships entering the lagoon.
Residents of other popular cities in Europe have also voiced their concerns in the wake of large tourist arrivals and the changes to historic centres that followed suit to accommodate visitors.
Some in Lisbon, which in recent years saw the number of overseas arrivals soar, are concerned it will become the next Venice.
Counting some 546,000 residents, the capital of Portugal welcomes between 30,000 to 40,000 tourists every day.
The sudden popularity of Lisbon, facilitated not just by the beauty of the city but also by low-cost flights, has boosted the tourism industry but has in turn made life more difficult for locals and lost traditional neighbourhoods to tourists – not unlikely to what many Venetians believe happened in their city.
Trish Lorenz, a journalist and resident of the capital, told the Telegraph in 2018: “In both Lisbon and Porto the central downtown areas have become more or less only for tourists.
“Lisbon’s Baixa district, for example, which covers an area of 1.5 square kilometres, now has more than 70 hotels, while tourist-oriented restaurants, souvenir shops and big international brands have displaced local businesses.”
Alongside tourism, Lisbon has also witnessed the rise of digital nomads – people who, thanks to remote working, move to stunning cities far from where their office is based. The presence of more foreigners earning much higher salaries than the average local is deepening issues caused by the presence of tourists.
Guya Accornero, a sociology researcher at the University Institute of Lisbon, told Euronews in August: “Local people are really fired up. They aren’t happy at all.”
In recent years, Lisbon alone has attracted 16,000 digital nomads, according to Nomad List. The popularity of the Portuguese city among young professionals has to do with its style and the “bohemian life” people can live there, according to Ms Accornero.
While Portugal’s economy is heavily reliant on tourism, commentators and locals alike are concerned about the impact too many unregulated visitors in one area can have. The huge amount of emissions created by flights landing in Lisbon is one issue, as is the skyrocketing house prices – which according to the International Monetary Fund have doubled since 2015. The presence of high-earning foreigners is feared also to be driving up prices and increasing a cost-of-living crisis for locals.
Despite the Portuguese capital recording a massive year for tourism in 2023 and overtaking pre-pandemic arrivals, Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas doesn’t appear to share his fellow citizens’ concerns.
In August, he argued there is still room for growth and rejected claims of overtourism.
He said: “I think we’re still very far from over-tourism. We’re not at the levels of Venice or Barcelona. We should continue to bet on tourism, betting on quality tourism.”
Nevertheless, he said he would back a higher tourist tax to help with the upkeep of Lisbon. Speaking about the housing issue, he agreed tourists can’t take over entire areas, adding: “Housing has to be core to counterbalance the attraction of foreigners to the city.”
