'I moved to Spain to improve my life – but I couldn’t cope with all the tourists'

Eva said that a lot of Swedish people moved to Spain in their later years (Image: Instagram/cope_es)

Over the past 18 months, Spain has seen an increasing number of protests against what locals describe as “excessive tourism” across the country.

Residents argue that housing costs are soaring as a result of a large proportion of homes being bought or rented by foreigners for much of the year.

Ironically, the latest Malaga resident to speak out about the influx of outsiders is a Swedish woman named Eva.

Eva had long dreamed of escaping the cold gloom of Sweden to begin a new life under the warm southern European sun. After exploring several options, she settled on a beachfront apartment in Mijas, near Malaga.

“When we Swedes turn 60 or 65, many of us want to leave Sweden because of the cold and the darkness,” she explained.

Malaga, on the Costa Del Sol, is a major tourist hub (Image: Stefan Tomic via Getty Images)

However, she told Spanish news outlet Cope that the area had become so saturated with tourists that she once considered selling her flat and moving back to Sweden.

“I was thinking of selling my flat a year or a year and a half ago because I was a bit frustrated by how Málaga is changing with tourism. There are many more people now, many more tourists,” she admitted.

“Now there is too much tourism. I am a tourist too, but I felt I couldn’t take it anymore,” she added.

In the end, Eva decided to stay put (Image: Instagram/cope_es)

She noted that while she has been living on the Costa del Sol for several years, she has observed a significant change since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data released by Spain’s Association of Registrars shows a 30% surge in foreign home purchases during the second quarter of this year.

Eva, however, has no plans to leave. “I feel like I don’t want to leave Málaga,” she said, citing her friendships, the climate, and the Mediterranean way of life as reasons to stay put.

“I feel like I have a life here. I have many Spanish friends, and that’s why leaving would be a bad idea,” she added.

Over the past few years, Malaga has experienced a significant housing crisis, largely due to rent speculation (Image: SOPA Images, SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Kike España, an urban planner and activist with the Málaga Tenants' Union, told the BBC that the city has reached a “turning point”, with locals feeling its infrastructure is buckling under the strain of mass tourism.

“It’s the same feeling you have when you enter a theme park,” he said. “There is a stream of people consuming the city rather than inhabiting it.”

By 2024, the tourism sector was projected to account for around 13% of Spain’s GDP, setting new records for both revenue and visitor numbers since rebounding from the coronavirus crisis.

But whether they are native Spaniards like Kike or long-term residents like Eva, locals are becoming increasingly frustrated by the intense pressure their cities are facing.