For several weeks in July, thousands of locals took to the streets in Spain's main tourist destinations to say they had enough of tourists. The protests were the latest example of the anti-tourist sentiment that has swept across much of Europe and experts warn that it could have a ripple effect around the world.
From Barcelona to Mallorca, protesters across Spain are calling for a more balanced approach to tourism, which they say is contributing to the country's housing crisis.
Peter Devlin, UNESCO's senior project officer for sustainable tourism, said in an interview with British daily newspaper The Guardian that the protests could spread beyond Europe.
“These destinations are way over their capacity,” he told The Guardian. “We're trying to rebalance the situation. It's totally out of balance now.”
Signs saying “Tourists go home” have become commonplace in Spain.
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Anti-tourism activists have staged a series of protests this year in popular holiday destinations including Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and the Canary Islands, arguing that tourists are making housing prices soaring and making it impossible for residents to live in city centres.
Other countries are also cracking down on tourist activity.
The Italian city of Venice in April launched a pilot program to charge day-trippers a 5-euro ($5.35) entrance fee, in the hopes of curbing tourist arrivals at peak times and making the city more livable for its dwindling population.
“We need to find a new balance between tourists and residents,” said Simone Venturini, the city's head of tourism. “Of course we need to protect residents' spaces and discourage day-trippers on certain days.”
While UNESCO officials are concerned about the scope of these protests expanding, Canadian tourism industry representatives hope that these sentiments will not affect people's lives here.
According to the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), domestic and international tourism accounts for approximately 1.6 per cent of Canada's total GDP ($42.7 billion) and employs approximately two million people annually.
3:32 Venice becomes first city to charge tourists 5 euros during peak season
“More than half of tourism businesses are small businesses with deep roots in the communities they are based in and serve. Tourism accounts for five per cent of all businesses in Canada,” TIAC CEO Beth Potter told Global News.
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Concerns about how tourism will affect housing also appear to be influencing housing policy in Barcelona, one of Spain's largest cities.
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Local authorities want to remove 10,000 apartments licensed for short-term rentals from the Spanish city known for its architecture, beaches and Catalan culture in a bid to protect and expand housing supply for permanent residents.
Barcelona city hall announced in June that it would not renew tourist apartment licences when they expire in 2028. Deputy Mayor Laia Bonet said the city wants tourism, which accounts for 15 percent of the local economy, but must help residents cope with rising rents and property prices.
“The housing crisis obliges and compels us to change our ways and prioritize housing over tourist policies,” Bonnett told The Associated Press.
A similar debate is happening here in Canada.
Potter said he was working with all levels of government to ensure the industry could achieve “sustainable growth”.
“Tourism is a highly interconnected sector, so improvements must be well considered to ensure that communities and residents benefit from the positive outcomes of tourism and at the same time feel supported by tourism growth,” she said.
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A new report released last week by Statistics Canada found that the number of short-term rentals in Canada has skyrocketed since 2017, and the number of properties considered suitable for long-term housing is growing even faster.
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According to the report, the total number of short-term rental properties in Canada has increased by 60 per cent between 2017 and 2023. The number of properties considered “potential long-term dwellings” (PLTDs) — properties that have the potential to become long-term homes — has increased by 80 per cent.
In 2017, there were 58,441 short-term rentals that could be considered long-term residential homes. By the end of 2023, this number will increase to 107,266, according to the report. In 2017, properties that could be considered long-term residential homes made up 27.2% of all short-term rentals. By 2023, this percentage will be 30.2%.
The report said long-term housing potential refers to all housing units that have been on the market for more than 180 days, which does not include vacation properties.
Tourism destinations have a significantly higher proportion of potential long-term housing in their total housing stock. For example, in Whistler, British Columbia, potential long-term housing makes up 35 percent of the total housing stock.
An Airbnb spokesman said the number of homes with long-term potential represents a small percentage of the company's total number of homes.
“Despite some concerns about the methodology used, as the report concludes, the number of short-term rentals that could potentially be used as long-term housing represents less than 1 per cent of the total number of housing units in Canada and only a fraction of the 22 million units needed by 2030 to achieve affordability,” Nathan Rotman, Airbnb's head of Canada policy, told Global News in a statement.
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Rotman said restricting short-term rentals won't solve the housing crisis.
While the percentage of potential long-term homes in Canada's housing stock may seem low, John Passalis, real estate agent and broker with Realosophy Realty, said the absolute numbers also tell a story.
“There are over 100,000 short-term rental properties that could have been used as family housing,” he said.
He said that's a very high figure for a country where annual housing starts are just over 200,000. Nationwide, housing starts in urban centres with populations of over 100,000 will fall from 240,590 in 2022 to 223,513 in 2023, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
Passalis said this speaks to a philosophical question in housing policy: “Is housing an investment or a right?”
“These units are not being used as housing but as separate hotel rooms for the benefit of investors,” he said. “We (Canada) value investor profits over housing.”
— Sources from Reuters and the Associated Press
