Spanish police have joined the war on tourists by confiscating sun loungers and parasols from selfish beach-hoggers who set up shop and then leave, sometimes before dawn.
The local councils of the most popular tourist centres on the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the Balearic and Canary Islands, have introduced fines for those who leave their belongings behind while eating or even going to sleep.
Sun loungers and parasols are taken to the local police station and tourists must pay the equivalent of £210 to get them back.
The new rules are just the latest development in Spain’s war on tourists, which has sparked widespread protests and visitors even being attacked with water pistols this summer.
Protesters have also occupied beaches on the island of Mallorca in an attempt to reclaim them for local people.
Spanish police have joined the war on tourists by confiscating sun loungers and parasols from rebellious holidaymakers
The image shows a police car loaded with confiscated chairs and umbrellas.
Malaga Local Police confiscate empty beach chairs
Sun loungers and parasols are taken to the local police station and tourists must pay the equivalent of £210 to get them back.
Local laws in coastal areas now prohibit the placement of chairs, sun loungers and umbrellas before 9 a.m. in an attempt to prevent them from interfering with beach cleaning at resorts.
Photos shared on social media show Malaga police enforcing the rules with uniformed officers removing chairs from the beach.
Other photographs show police cars packed with confiscated chairs and umbrellas.
The angry user captioned the TikTok post “you can’t squat on the beach while you go to lunch, but they can squat in your house,” in a reference to Spain’s unpopular squatting laws.
Others, however, welcomed the new rules.
A Facebook page dedicated to Spanish tourism said: “Where are the people? We’ll tell you… sleeping or having breakfast at home.”
‘This practice, which has been going on for many years, is starting to be regulated by coastal town councils, because it is not normal to arrive at 9 or 10 in the morning and find the first and second rows of beach full and with no one around.
‘Only those who have experienced it understand the importance of local authorities, through their local police, regulating the proper use of these spaces.’
Spanish media have reported that the regulations prohibit the “indiscriminate occupation of public land and make special reference to the occupation of beaches with items such as chairs, hammocks and parasols from the early hours of the morning.”
Local laws also state that umbrellas, chairs and sun loungers left unattended for more than three hours may be removed.
If there is evidence that objects have been abandoned without the presence of their owner, the City Council, through the Local Police or its cleaning staff, may remove them.
A Spanish media outlet reports: ‘For several years now, the City Council has received numerous complaints every summer about the reservation of places on the beaches, since when users arrive at the beach in the middle of the morning they find a large part of the sand occupied by objects belonging to people who are not there.
‘The stolen items are deposited at the local police station, where the owners must pay 250 euros to recover them, in accordance with article 54 of the ordinance regulating the police, good governance and taxation of street trading.’
This summer, thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Spain to demonstrate against mass tourism in the country.
In July, thousands of protesters marched through Barcelona waving signs and throwing water pistols at tourists.
The protest was organised under the slogan ‘Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism’ to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists who visit the country every year.
Protesters march shouting slogans against the Barcelona Formula 1 Fan Festival in central Barcelona, last week
A banner with the message ‘No to tourist apartments’ hangs from a balcony to protest against the rental of holiday apartments to tourists in the Barceloneta district of Barcelona
A family walks among anti-tourism graffiti in Barcelona
A group of tourists on a bike tour pass by anti-tourism graffiti that reads Your Journey Our Misery
Protesters carried signs reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists, go home”, before some used water pistols on tourists eating outdoors at restaurants in popular tourist spots.
Chants of “Tourists out of our neighborhood” could be heard as some stood outside hotel entrances.
Rising house prices in Barcelona, which have increased by 68 percent in the past decade, are one of the main problems of the movement, along with the effects of tourism on local commerce and working conditions in the city of 1.6 million inhabitants.
Rents rose 18 percent in June from a year earlier in tourist cities such as Barcelona and Madrid, according to property website Idealista.
This summer there have also been protests on the beaches of Mallorca to ask residents to reclaim the spaces.
This weekend, anti-tourism protesters armed with banners and signs stormed a popular party beach on the island.
Campaigners in Mallorca have blamed the number of visitors for problems such as rising living costs and a lack of housing for locals.
One protester said: “40 years ago, when I was young, I used to come here to swim, then people started coming to drink and it has deteriorated.”
Another added: ‘We are trying, for a moment, for a few hours, to remember that these sandbanks are the property of all Mallorcans, not just tourists, we can all enjoy them too.
Members of the Mallorca Platja Tour association demonstrate against tourism with a banner reading ‘Let’s occupy our beaches!’ on the beach in Palma de Mallorca on August 11
Members of the Mallorca Platja Tour association demonstrate against the tourist saturation on the beach of Palma de Mallorca
Protesters demonstrate against tourism levels on the beach in Palma de Mallorca on August 11
Campaigners in Mallorca have blamed the number of visitors on problems such as rising living costs and a lack of housing for locals.
Sunday’s demonstration was one of many this summer against excessive tourism in Mallorca.
Members of the Mallorca Platja Tour association demonstrate against tourist saturation on the beach of Palma de Mallorca on August 11
Three signs taped to a beach umbrella read “Stop drunk tourists”
‘Many tourists understand this, it is easy to understand that rent has doubled, that everything is full.’
Last month, anti-tourism activists in Mallorca mocked England’s defeat in the Euro 2024 final against Spain and demanded that Britain “take back its drunks”.
Up to 50,000 residents took to the streets of the Mallorcan capital Palma on July 21 to call for restrictions on the number of foreign visitors allowed on the Spanish island.
Among them was one holding aloft a photograph of England full-back Kyle Walker accompanied by the words: “The only thing that comes home is you.”