'Go home!' Anti-tourism 'guerrilla campaigns' erupt throughout popular Spanish city that reached 100% capacity ahead of Easter

George Bunn
Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:11:29 +0000

Residents in a popular Spanish holiday hotspot have launched an anti-tourist "guerrilla campaign" after accommodation in the city reached 100 per cent capacity ahead of Easter.

Protesters have scrawled the words ‘Airbnb out!’ across the facades of short-let buildings in Seville while key lockboxes were sealed shut using silicone.

One road sign in the Andalusian city was graffitied with the words "Guiris, go home" ("Tourists, go home").

It is the latest in a long series of campaigns in Spain, with tourists being doused with water by locals in Barcelona in previous years.

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One Santa Cruz resident, identified only as Marisol, told local media: "The only way we can try to stop this is if people stand up for themselves.

"There are no bakeries left, just souvenir shops and queues for breakfast. If we don’t cover the walls, it looks like nothing’s happening. But what’s really happening is that we’re being pushed out."

Locals warn the trend is turning the major city into a "theme park," as traditional businesses and homes give way to tourist attractions and aparthotels.

It follows backlash in the city after this year’s Semana Santa (Holy Week) commemorations, when all 9,800 tourist flats and 250 hotels across the city were virtually full.

The Andalusian city has seen a spike in housing costs, with average rents rising across the country.

According to local media, the average cost of an apartment has jumped from just over €2,000 per square metre in 2022 to more than €2,700 in 2026.

Prices rose by as much as 12 to 13 per cent in 2025 alone.

Local authorities across Spain, including Sevilla’s, have introduced tougher enforcement measures, such as cutting off utilities to illegal flats and restricting new licences in saturated areas, after widespread protests over the last three years.

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In Majorca, frustration among residents has reached breaking point, with mass demonstrations planned amid growing anger over overcrowding, rising costs and pressure on local infrastructure.

The campaign group Menys Turisme, Mes Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), which has helped organise some of the island’s largest protests, told GB News that tensions are already rising ahead of the summer season.

A spokesman for the group warned that local communities are becoming increasingly "combative" as they feel ignored by authorities.

Meanwhile, in Barcelona protesters have previously held marches through crowded city centres, with protests also breaking out in the Canary Islands, with rallies held by residents against what they describe as an “unsustainable” tourism model.

One Valencia-based politician, Alberto Ibáñez, said neighbourhoods across major Spanish cities are being transformed into "sets for tourists".

He said: "We don't need more tourists, we can't accommodate any more...We can keep denying it until the day comes when there are no residents left.

"These are people who come down here and don't know if they're in Valencia, Seville or Barcelona. They buy the same souvenir and spend no more than five euros on a beer."