Hundreds of people met on Sunday morning in Donostia to request a reduction in the city's tourist activity and the "improvement of living conditions" of the Donostians at the demonstration that the Bizilagun platform has held with some 30 agents. The mobilization starts with Alderdi Eder and ends in the Kursaal crossing the old town.

The members of the platform have pointed out that San Sebastian has highlighted in recent years as a “tourist attraction”: “Having given the “free bar” to the tourist, the city has attracted investors, multinationals, speculators, exploiters, opportunists and vultures”. On the other hand, they have denounced that urban space is being transformed “for the benefit of tourism businesses”, which has caused “hundreds or thousands of Donostiarras to be expelled from the city” because they cannot carry out their vital project.

They have also placed the responsibility of public institutions at the centre and denounced that “they are available to those who are enriched with the tourism business”: “They talk about sustainable tourism because they now feel the need to make a account of what they are taking measures. It's not credible." In addition, the members of the platform have stressed that public institutions have regulated the opening of tourist apartments and hotels “to open more open doors”. Likewise, they point out that while public institutions act “around” the tourism rate, they “hide” what they want to allocate the money raised.

Request to public bodies

The platform with neighbours calls “to reduce tourism promotion to zero”: “To limit the prices of housing rentals; to eliminate the possibilities of opening more tourist apartments and hotels and to start a process of reducing current ones; to strengthen measures to protect the natural and architectural heritage”. It has also called for the need to transform public space “to adapt it to the needs of residents’ lives”, carrying out “policies to promote community life in neighborhoods”.

“We need to start a process of transition to tourism decline, we call on public institutions to let citizens speak and listen carefully,” said the members of the platform. In addition, they call for "the struggles that have been ignited to respond to the destination".

Turespaña Convention in San Sebastián

As of tomorrow, various public and private institutions that, according to the members of the platform, “guide the turistification” meet in the Turespaña Convention: “Celebrating these events in our city is no coincidence. San Sebastián stands out in recent years as a business center through tourism activity", criticizes the platform