Residents in Málaga began pasting stickers – which read ‘A family lived here before’ or ‘Go home’ – outside tourist accommodation across the southern Spanish city.
The core of what a Spanish broadcaster called “the sticker revolt” is not a rejection of tourism. On the contrary, as the city’s residents struggle with record numbers of tourists, it is a criterion for a more balanced approach that could allow a better coexistence between residents and tourists.
It’s a debate taking place across Europe, as cities from Athens to Amsterdam grapple with how best to deal with hypertourism.
The landlords’ refusal, however, has sent tenants into a desperate search amid few options in a real estate market where tourist accommodations have for years outnumbered downtown residents.
Completely disillusioned, the tenants created their own group on social media, posting their own take on the familiar blue signs advertising tourist accommodation in the city. “This is an attack on the citizens of the city,” he said, as they called on others to create their own rebrand of these short-term rentals.
The campaign quickly grew as residents began printing out the answers and pasting them all over town.
The housing crisis in Spain
A recent survey of residents in Malaga found that access to housing ranked as their main concern, with 60% of respondents describing rental prices as “too expensive”.
While around 80% of respondents described the impact of tourism as “very positive” or “positive”, the most recent figures available showed that in 2021, the number of foreigners moving to the city increased by 2,600, while the population of Spanish nationals decreased by almost 1,000.
As the number of tourist accommodation has increased, the rental supply for locals has shrunk, with some being forced to move into shared accommodation and young people.
Those lucky enough to have their own home were not spared, he said, as the influx of tourists had steadily replaced fruit and fishmongers with souvenir stands and luggage storage.
As news of the ‘sticker riot’ in Malaga spreads, messages of mutual aid from across the country are mounting. From San Sebastián to Valencia to Madrid and Barcelona, residents got in touch to express interest in printing their own stickers.
