Europe’s Beaches Sold Off to the Highest Bidder — 1.2 Million Locals Fight Back

For decades, anyone could walk along Greece’s coastline and lay down a towel without spending a single euro. But that tradition is now under threat as commercial exploitation becomes irresistible, with private companies increasingly charging fees for access and loungers [188532]. From Albania to Portugal, locals are taking to the streets to protest the privatization of their coastlines, arguing that the economic benefits of mass tourism are few and far between [188965].

In Albania, protesters have marched for 28 consecutive days in Tirana to oppose the alleged sale of a public beach to a tourism project reportedly linked to Jared Kushner, former President Donald Trump’s son-in-law. Demonstrators say the deal would give a private company control over a stretch of coastline, limiting public access and damaging the environment [183575]. In Barcelona, demonstrators have sprayed tourists with water pistols and blocked hotel entrances, while in Tenerife, visitors see “tourists go home” graffiti along roads to the beach. The real villain, however, is not the traveler—it is big business. Privatization of beaches and coastal land has pushed out local communities, who see little profit from the tourism boom while corporations control access to their own shores [188965].

Meanwhile, Venice is considering a drastic increase in its tourist entry fee to €50 for peak season day-trippers, up from the current €5 to €10 [187113]. Spain is watching closely, as its popular destinations face similar overcrowding problems. Barcelona plans to double its tourist tax to between €10 and €15 per person per night by 2029, while the Balearic Islands already charge an “ecotasa” of €1 to €4 per night in high season [187113]. A report from the Spanish research foundation Funcas argues that current tourist taxes are too low and that a substantial increase to between €15 and €20 is necessary to reduce tourist pressure [187113].

The backlash is not limited to the Mediterranean. In Norway, the government has announced new measures to protect wild reindeer on the Hardangervidda plateau, closing two more tourist cabins—Lågaros and Hadlaskard—to reduce human disturbance in critical habitats [187186]. And in Hong Kong, the city’s ombudsman found serious maintenance problems in country parks, with “deficiencies” in monitoring, slow repairs, and poor information for hikers, making some areas unsafe for visitors [184869].