Thousands protested against mass tourism in Malaga. As they marched through the center of the southern Spanish city on Saturday, people carried signs with slogans such as “Málaga is not for sale” and “This is not tourism, this is an invasion.”
According to the organizers, 25,000 people took part in the demonstration. The newspaper “El País” estimated the number of participants at 15,000.
Other cities are already protesting
In recent weeks and months, there have been major protests against the excesses of tourism in the popular holiday destination, including in Mallorca, Barcelona and the Canary Islands.
Several Spanish media outlets agreed that Malaga has now experienced one of the largest demonstrations in recent history in the Andalusian coastal metropolis.
“Resentment is great”
The tenants’ association “Sindicato de Inquilinos e Inquilinas” called for the demonstration. The organization blames the ever-increasing number of visitors and the vacation homes for the housing shortage and other problems. “The city is suffering, there is great discontent. Above all, the housing problem had to be put on the table,” said the spokesman for the organizers, Curro Machuca, as quoted by “El País”.
With more than 12,000 legally registered holiday homes, Malaga is only behind Madrid and Barcelona in Spain. In addition, many private holiday homes in Malaga and elsewhere are being exploited illegally. “The situation is untenable. It is impossible to buy a house,” protester María Franco told El País. Engineer Sonia Raya told the newspaper that she had recently visited a windowless garage in Malaga that had been offered as an apartment for a monthly rent of 600 euros.
Source: Krone
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