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Lese-Ansicht

Fight them for the beaches: the real villain of Europe’s overtourism is big business | Adam Almeida

From Albania to Portugal, privatisation of the coastline is bringing locals out on to the streets. For them, the economic benefits are few and far between

Few scenes better capture the essence of a European summer than the terminals of our airports in the early hours of the morning. Britons necking pints like a football match is on, German couples eagerly murmuring about their cycling tour across Croatia, and passengers sleeping peacefully on corridor floors. This holiday season, millions will embark on an annual pilgrimage to the hotspots of Mallorca, Corfu and Albufeira to enjoy a much-anticipated break in the sun.

But it’s increasingly likely that they will face some kind of hostility there. In Barcelona, demonstrators might spray them with water pistols or tape off the entrance to their hotel. In Tenerife, visitors might see “tourists go home” graffiti on the side of the road as they drive their rental car down to the beach.

Adam Almeida is a writer and researcher living in London

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© Photograph: Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images

© Photograph: Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images

© Photograph: Marco Bottigelli/Getty Images

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Wall Street landlords have met a surprising opponent in Trump. So why is Starmer courting them? | Adam Almeida

To win votes, Trump can afford to face up to corporate power – to deliver his promised 1.5m homes, Starmer can’t

In an incredibly polarised society, there are fewer and fewer things that seem to unite both sides of the aisle in the US political system. Yet it turns out that an objection to Wall Street’s grand heist of single-family homes has done just that.

We might expect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren to rail against the incursion of institutional investors into residential real estate markets, causing rent prices to jump and effectively locking millions of households out of home ownership. However, I admit I was surprised to see JD Vance and Marjorie Taylor Greene striking a similar note. But I was completely dumbfounded to see the real estate tycoon and Wall Street darling Donald Trump sing from the same hymn sheet.

Adam Almeida is a writer and researcher living in London

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© Photograph: trekshots/Alamy

© Photograph: trekshots/Alamy

© Photograph: trekshots/Alamy

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