Protests against 'tourism monoculture' in southern Europe set for June 15

Coordinated international protests against "tourism monoculture" were announced for June 15 by the SET (Southern Europe Against Touristification) network on Friday. 

The initiative aims to build on last summer's rallies against mass tourism, including those in Barcelona which garnered international headlines after protesters attacked tourists with water pistols.

A manifesto presented by SET on Friday states that the goal is for voices against touristification to "resonate across Europe and beyond."

It calls for the "necessary socio-economic transformation" of regions affected by excessive tourism and an end to the "tourism fire that is ravaging the planet."

The protests, which will demand "limits on tourist exploitation," are being organized by groups from 16 cities and regions in southern Europe, including Barcelona, the Pyrenees, Mallorca, Venice, Valencia, Naples, Lisbon, Palermo, Bilbao, Donostia-San Sebastián, and Eivissa (Ibiza).

The cities leading the June 15 protests plan to mobilize under a common slogan, but each city and region will decide how to organize their actions, according to Daniel Pardo, a member of the Assembly of Neighborhoods for Tourist De-growth (ABDT).

Pardo explained that the network and protests are open to cities and regions outside southern Europe but emphasized that there is a "geopolitical logic" that unites southern regions, distinguishing them from those in northern Europe. "The dynamics at play are generally the same," he said.

Action at La Sagrada Família

This weekend, the SET network will hold a meeting featuring talks, workshops, and debates to "diagnose" the current situation, concluding on Sunday with a symbolic action around the Sagrada Família, aimed at "launching future coordinated protests against touristification."