Anti-Tourist Graffiti in Florence
In recent months, anti-tourist slogans have appeared on the walls in numerous tourist destinations. This issue has also reached Florence – graffiti encouraging tourists to leave the city, such as “Tourists go home” or “Yankee go home,” has emerged on the walls and bridges of the city, including on Ponte alle Grazie. While these writings were quickly removed, they serve as a clear indication that the debate about mass tourism and its effects is still ongoing.
Mass tourism has triggered protests in various tourist cities, with Barcelona being a notable example. Thousands of residents in Barcelona took to the streets to express their opposition to the negative consequences of overtourism. Local media, moreover, has reported incidents of tourists being sprayed with water guns in bars and restaurants.
The primary reason for these protests is the dissatisfaction with the transformation of cities into purely tourist-oriented destinations, often at the expense of local residents. This approach has led to increased costs of living, rising rental prices, heavier traffic, environmental pollution, and overburdened public services (such as the healthcare system). For residents of popular Spanish and Italian cities, the overwhelming number of visitors has made daily life increasingly difficult.
The President of the Tuscany region, Eugenio Giani, has acknowledged the record-breaking levels of tourism in Florence, even surpassing pre-pandemic numbers. Although Florence often benefits from the presence of visitors, there are also downsides to this kind of popularity. Local authorities point out that it’s necessary to find a middle ground—to protect local residents while also developing tourism. Mayor Sara Funaro has expressed concern about the slogans appearing in the city, targeting foreign visitors. She believes that concrete actions must be taken to prevent large-scale protests, like those seen in Barcelona.
Last year, the former mayor of Florence, Dario Nardella, announced the suspension of new Airbnbs opening for short-term rentals in the historic city center, due to the extreme rent increases for residents and students. Nevertheless, the regional court later overturned the decision, following appeals from rental agencies. These agencies argued that the Florence authorities’ decision was an ‘anti-democratic act by the Municipality of Florence.’ The Tribunali Amministrativi Regionali (TAR) court of Tuscany ruled that the ban was invalid, because it was incorporated into the city’s existing urban planning regulations as an amendment, rather than as a stand alone resolution. Following this the number of applications to open new Airbnbs in the city center immensely increased – by almost 10%.
Since the Tuscan region has the highest number of Airbnb rentals among Italy’s 20 regions, current mayor Sara Funaro has made it clear that she aims to limit short-term rentals in order to address the issue of overpriced rents in the city center. On July 30, the City Council approved a ban on Airbnbs rentals in the historic center. However, another round of appeals from rental agencies has been filed, so the issue remains unresolved. (Paulina Juzak)
