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TOURISM

‘Get the f*ck out of here’: Spain’s Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers

Málaga city centre is being emblazoned with stickers demanding tourists “go f*cking home” as locals in the Costa del Sol city struggle with the negative consequences of its exploding popularity among holidaymakers and foreign digital nomads.

Published: 13 March 2024 11:48 CET
'Get the f*ck out of here': Spain's Málaga plastered with anti-tourism stickers
Since the advent of remote working during the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of international remote workers have flocked to Málaga, along with millions of foreign holidaymakers. (Photo by JORGE GUERRERO / AFP)

“This used to be my home” (antes esta era mi casa) , “go f*cking home” (a tu puta casa), “stinking of tourist” (apestando a turista), “this used to be the city centre” (antes esto era el centro) and “Your dead loved ones, mayor” (Alcalde tus muertos) are some of the hostile messages recently adorning walls and doors in the Andalusian city of Málaga. 

This “sticker initiative” was started by local bar owner Dani Drunko who runs a well-known bar in Málaga called Drunkorama, and who selected some of the most liked anti-tourism slogans from his followers and made them into stickers that now decorate Málaga city centre.

Drunko told local daily Diario Sur that he began the campaign after he was “kicked out” of the home he’d been living in for ten years, with the landlords refusing to negotiate the rent or sell him the property because they wanted to turn it into a short-term tourism rental. 

“There’s a lot of hype because locals are tired of the situation; I just suggested the idea of ​​the catchphrases, I offered the spark, and now others have joined,” Drunko added about how other campaign groups such as GuirisGoHome taking part as well. 

READ ALSO: Is the Spanish word ‘guiri’ (foreigner) offensive?

“Málaga city centre has been going downhill for a long time, so much so that if for example something in my bar breaks, I don’t have a hardware store on hand to buy anything, since the tourist who comes doesn’t need to buy screws”.

The Local Spain’s reporter Esme Fox, who last November wrote the article “Why Spain’s Málaga is becoming a victim of its own success”, has recently experienced the change to the Andalusian city first-hand.

“It’s definitely busier than before during low season,” Fox explains.

“A few years ago I visited in August and it was busy as expected, but this time I visited in January and at night it seemed to be just as packed. It was just a regular Wednesday night and it’s as though a festival was taking place given the sheer amount of people in the streets and spilling out of bars.

“There are lockboxes for tourists to self-check at practically every building in the centre! 

“Prices have also increased significantly with regards to food. Tapas in Málaga city were more expensive than what I’m used to paying in Barcelona where I live.”

Spain’s Costa del Sol, where Málaga is located, received a record 14 million national and international holidaymakers in 2023, but its popularity is such that many foreigners are choosing to move there.

Eight out of 10 new residents moving to Málaga are currently foreigners, according to recent data from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

Google and 630 other tech companies have set up shop in Málaga in recent years as well, turning the city into the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Europe and drawing thousands of international remote workers and digital nomads for its combination of cosmopolitan work environment and quality of life under the sun.

Málaga is certainly going places, but as evidenced by this latest anti-tourism campaign, malagueños are angry about the fact that they’re being priced out and alienated from their home city.

READ ALSO: ‘Beach closed’: Fake signs put up in Spain’s Mallorca to dissuade tourists

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TOURISM

FACT CHECK: No, Spain’s Balearics haven’t banned tourists from drinking alcohol

Over the last few days, there have been a slew of sensationalist headlines mainly from UK media stating that Mallorca and Ibiza have banned alcohol.

Published: 16 May 2024 11:35 CEST
FACT CHECK: No, Spain's Balearics haven't banned tourists from drinking alcohol

Anyone having read the news about Spain in the UK over the past few days would be forgiven for thinking that drinking alcohol had been completely banned on the ‘party’ islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, but that’s not exactly the case. 

GB News went with ‘‘I cannot believe this!’ Britons fume at ‘tough’ new alcohol restrictions in popular parts of Spain’, while the Daily Mail wrote: ‘A kick in the Balearics for boozy Brits’.

Euronews reported ‘No more ‘sun, sex and sangria’ tourism in Ibiza and Mallorca under new alcohol laws’ and The Drinks Business simply said ‘Balearics bring in booze ban’.

It’s easy to understand why holidaymakers are confused and there has already been quite a lot of backlash, particularly from Brits.

Most of these articles concede further down that the truth is that the islands have only updated and toughened up laws on drinking in the street, and have also put a stop to shops selling alcohol late at night.

All this is in a bid to try and curb anti-social behaviour which many locals have been protesting against recently.

In fact, the rules don’t even apply to the whole of the Balearics or even the whole of Mallorca and Ibiza, they only apply to three resorts in Mallorca – Palma, Calvià and Llucmajor and one in Ibiza – Sant Antoni de Portmany.

As well as a ban on drinking in the streets in these areas, shops in these locations will also be forced to close between 9.30pm and 8am.

It’s not only that they will be banned from selling alcohol between these times, like many reported, but that they will have to close completely. 

The Governing Council of the Balearic Islands approved the modification of the Decree Law 1/2020 at the proposal of the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sports, which regulates ‘excess tourism’.

The changes aim to promote responsible tourism and the improvement in the quality of tourist areas.

The ban also extends to one nautical mile or 1.85km off the coast, in a bid to put a stop to party boats from coming in too close to shore or picking up extra passengers.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t drink at all at night. Bars, clubs and restaurants in these resorts will still be serving booze late into the night, you just can’t walk down the street with your bottle of beer.

Anyone found breaking the rules will be subject to fines between €500 to €1,500.

The government of the Balearics also approved an annual spending of €16 million from tourist taxes which will be allocated for the modernisation and improvement of these areas and enforcing the ban.

The new laws came into effect on May 11th and the government has confirmed that they will be in effect until at least December 2027. 

What has changed from before?

The new decree reinforces laws that were brought in in 2020 banning alcohol offers such as two-for-one drinks, happy hours and bar crawls in these areas. These will also be extended until 2027. 

The prohibition of alcohol sales between 9:30pm and 8am was also already in place, but now the shops will be forced to close entirely.

The main change that will affect holidaymakers will be the ban on drinking alcohol on the streets.

Nothing new

But this is nothing new when it comes to Spain. Aragón, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, Madrid and La Rioja all have some type of ban on what is known in Spain as botellón, essentially drinking alcohol with friends in a public place (street, square etc).

The Balearics are simply catching up to a large majority of the country, where this is already the norm.

All of this comes on the tail of mass complaints from the locals, particularly in Ibiza, where residents are planning to take to the streets at 8pm on May 24th to call on authorities to act on the impact tourism is having on locals’ living standards.  

It started with calls online to “imitate the protests that took place in the Canaries” in April, with many locals feeling that the issues that Ibiza faces are even worse than those of the Atlantic Archipelago. 

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