Spain warns UK tourists over 'major concern' that 'should not be difficult to understand'

Spain has warned UK tourists over a "major concern" and warned "it should not be difficult to understand". European Union holidaymakers have been warned by locals in Spain after a THIRD said they were fed up of tourists in a new YouGov poll.

Manuel Arias told the Guardian: "As a Spaniard living in Barcelona, I want to explain why tourism has become a major concern for us. While noise, littering and security are issues for many councils of touristic cities, the most severe impact is on housing.

"We may tolerate crowded streets, local businesses turning into tourist spots and disappearing, or emergency rooms overwhelmed during tourist season. But the real tragedy is how unaffordable housing has become."

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The resident went on saying the "problem has now spread to the Canary and Balearic islands, Seville, Valencia, Cádiz, Málaga and even Madrid." He said: "Tourist rentals and short‑term lets are more profitable, so greedy property owners and investors prioritise them, driving up prices and making long-term rentals scarce and expensive."

He fumed: "Locals are being displaced by tourists and digital nomads. This is eroding our communities and creating a societal crisis. We urge our politicians to address this issue. This must be put to an end. We have the right to live in our own cities. It should not be difficult to understand."

The YouGov survey comes after a summer of demonstrations and urgent warnings against the impact of mass tourism. The polling in Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the UK found Spain was the country that felt most strongly about the phenomenon, with 32% of respondents saying there were now too many foreign travellers in their area.

That number rose to 48% in Catalonia, the region that includes Barcelona, whose 1.6 million residents receive about 32 million visitors annually.