Europeans shooting attractions, tour buses with water guns to protest ‘touristification’ of cities

If you are jetting off for a European summer, there is one date to beware of: June 15.

Locals in tourist hotspots who feel foreigners are turning their cities into playgrounds while they are left behind with a housing crisis, rising rents and environmental impacts are planning to disrupt airports, tour buses and popular attractions with placards and water pistols to get their point across.

Following a meeting in Barcelona in April, a coalition of activists — the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification – revealed they were planning a day of protests on June 15.