Anti-tourism in Europe
Anti-Tourism in (Southern) Europe
“The cost of Europe’s backlash against tourists”
“European countries hosted 709mn international visitors last year, with rising numbers coming from North America but the vast majority travelling within Europe.”
Spain’s “tourist promotion agency predicts that visitor numbers from June to September will be up 13 per cent from a year ago.”
The growth in the number of tourists has been so dramatic that the locals have “snapped.”
snapshot: “Spaniards remain agog at drunk Britons engaged in “balconing”, the life-threatening activity of clambering between balconies or leaping from them into a pool.”
Mass protests in sizes like 10,000 or 5,000 took place recently. Things are gentrified, prices hiked, and local expelled.
However, “rejecting a sector that is the economic lifeblood of many places is dangerous.”
The sequence:
- Fueled by influencers, tourists swarming for ‘authenticity’ reaching deep local areas. Tourism income dominates the local economy.
- Due to Covid-19, local authorities racked up a lot of debts.
- When tourists came back in the post-pandemic, authorities were desperate to welcome them back, which led to lax regulations.
While governments are employing many measures to suppress over-tourism, one thing that locals are most interested is housing. Lisbon and Barcelona are restricting commercial renting, against which property owners made legal challenges.
2-year Treasury bond in the record demand
“Auction of 2-year Treasury notes shows record demand levels”
- short story: traders expect an interest cut soon and want to lock in a high-rate bond before it.
Modi plans a spending plan for his allies
“India unveils spending binge to boost Narendra Modi’s allies”
After the shocking electoral setback (losing the absolute majority), Modi “has announced a spending splurge for its new coalition partners.”
- spending packages for regional coalition partners: “This included a Rs260bn industrial corridor running through Bihar, Rs150bn for a new “high-tech” capital in Andhra Pradesh called Amaravati and funds for flood reconstruction and developing local temples.”
The plan also entails keeping capital investment high while cutting fiscal deficits. Youth joblessness is considered one of the reasons for the electoral setback.