Spain’s mass tourism model is facing increasing scrutiny from environmental organisations, who cite severe environmental and social consequences and demand limits on tourist exploitation.
The latest is Ecologistas en Acción who argues that the current development model is unsustainable, exploiting ecosystems, exacerbating inequality, and fostering dependence on external factors.
The NGO highlights the disparity between the substantial profits of tourism companies and the often precarious working conditions of employees, who face low wages, long hours, and excessive workloads.
The relentless pursuit of higher visitor numbers leads to the commodification of public spaces, uncontrolled urbanization, and the proliferation of large-scale accommodations, negatively impacting both coastal and rural areas. This pressure on resources and communities has generated widespread discontent among residents who bear the brunt of institutional inaction.
Ecologistas en Acción advocates for measures to protect natural areas and curb mass tourism’s displacement of local communities. Their proposals include eco-taxes, a moratorium on new tourism developments, stricter regulations on tourist rentals, and restrictions on foreign property ownership. Experts echo these concerns, urging administrations to address the overexploitation of tourism.
The environmental damage is significant. Since the 1988 Coastal Law, Spain’s urbanised coastline has more than doubled, from 240,000 to 530,000 hectares, resulting in a 40.9% urbanisation rate in coastal provinces heavily reliant on mass tourism. Currently, 36.5% of the beachfront is urbanised, and over a third of adjacent ecosystems have been destroyed.
Furthermore, 44% of groundwater bodies are overexploited and polluted, a situation exacerbated by the 85 million tourists who visited Spain in 2023 (INE), significantly increasing water consumption.
Global tourism’s carbon footprint, exceeding 4,500 million metric tons (8% of global greenhouse gas emissions), is a major contributor to climate change. Aviation, with 283 million passengers recorded in Spain in 2023, is a significant contributor.
Despite this, AENA plans to expand seven Spanish airports, and Spanish ports welcomed over 12 million cruise passengers in 2023. While marketed as sustainable, cruises are increasingly criticised as highly polluting.
Despite record tourist numbers, hotel occupancy, and revenue, the reality for many local residents is starkly different. Low wages, poverty, unemployment, and rising living costs are prevalent. Hospitality sector earnings barely exceed the Interprofessional Minimum Wage (SMI), placing Spain among European regions with the lowest wages, while the cost of living and housing has increased, leaving 20.2% of the population at risk of poverty or social exclusion.
The proliferation of holiday rentals, driven by the unsustainable tourism model, has transformed residential areas into tourist hotspots, disrupting local communities and creating a housing crisis.
The conversion of properties into short-term rentals has severely reduced the availability of long-term housing, impacting residents’ constitutional right to housing.
In conclusion, Ecologistas en Acción emphasises that the current tourism model is unsustainable, degrading ecosystems and creating an unfair distribution of wealth, prioritising short-term economic gains over long-term environmental and social well-being.
