By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Accept
Sign In
The Spanish EyeThe Spanish EyeThe Spanish Eye
Notification Show More
  • Home
  • News
  • Travel
  • Events
  • Health
  • Property
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Login
  • Subscribe
Reading: ‘Vandalise them!’: Anti-tourism activist in Malaga admits to sabotaging Airbnb lockboxes and encourages locals to do the same
Share
The Spanish EyeThe Spanish Eye
Search
  • Home
  • News
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Property
  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
The Spanish Eye > Costa del Sol > ‘Vandalise them!’: Anti-tourism activist in Malaga admits to sabotaging Airbnb lockboxes and encourages locals to do the same
Costa del SolNews

‘Vandalise them!’: Anti-tourism activist in Malaga admits to sabotaging Airbnb lockboxes and encourages locals to do the same

Last updated: April 4, 2025 11:11 am
Laurence Dollimore
Published: April 4, 2025
Share

AN anti-tourism protester in Malaga is sabotaging lockboxes in a bid to stop people accessing their holiday apartments.

The creator behind the GuirisGoHome page shared an article about tourist flats to their followers.

It stated how the Plaza de la Merded in Malaga city was the most saturated in Europe in terms of holiday apartments.

The GuirisGoHome page wrote in a caption: ‘Please vandalise all the lockboxes that you see! Superglue them! I am doing the same in my street.’

They then shared a screenshot of a message from a critic, who accused them of ‘wasting their time’ before telling them to ‘get lost’.

The activist replied: ‘I don’t waste any time, I do it while walking to work and coming home… the guiris and landlords will get lost when they come back and find they cannot collect their keys.’

The GuirisGoHome page wrote in a caption: ‘Please vandalise all the lockboxes that you see! Superglue them! I am doing the same in my street.’

It comes as potentially millions of Spaniards are set to take to the streets this weekend to protest against ‘the housing racket’.

Demonstrations are scheduled for Malaga, Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife and a host of other major cities across the country on April 5 (Saturday).

Many Spaniards, particularly young people, say they are fed-up of being increasingly priced out of city centres due to rising rents and surging buying costs.

The brunt of the crisis has been blamed on the rise of tourist apartments, which have surged by tens of thousands over the past few years.

The most affected areas are naturally tourist hotspots like Madrid, Sevilla, Malaga, Tenerife, Mallorca, Ibiza, Valencia, Cadiz and elsewhere.

The cities where protests will take place, alongside their starting times and locations

In many cities, business owners and landlords are turning their properties into short-term holiday lets due to the much higher returns.

- Advertisement -

But this is stripping supply for local families desperate for long-term accommodation, while those looking to buy are seeing prices reach astronomical heights.

The anger reached new heights in Barcelona last year when locals were filmed spraying tourists with water pistols and telling them to go home.

Many have argued that the tourists are not to blame, when many of the property owners creating tourist flats are in fact Spanish.

But local governments have been forced to act in the face of mammoth protests.

Barcelona announced last year that it will ban ALL of its tourist apartments by 2028. The measure includes retroactively removing licences from all existing holiday flats.

Malaga also recently announced that it will introduce a ‘global moratorium’ on tourist flats, although more details have yet to be revealed.

- Advertisement -

Pothole chaos in Estepona ‘is endangering thousands of drivers daily’: 300 found on the A-7 alone but ‘government has no repair plan’
Body found in suitcase on Spain’s Costa del Sol belonged to mystery 40-year-old mother – dashing hopes of Agnese Klavina closure
WATCH: Inside the cocaine ‘caletas’ gang who used villas in Malaga to fill modified cars to the brim with drugs – and made a fortune per kilo
Pictured: Great white shark captured off Spain’s Alicante – should swimmers be worried?
German tourist, 37, is found alive and well more than a week after vanishing from Malaga
TAGGED:airbnbmalaga

Sign Up For Newsletters

Be kept up to date! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Share This Article
Facebook Email Print
ByLaurence Dollimore
Laurence Dollimore has been covering news in Spain for almost a decade. The London-born expat is NCTJ-trained and has a Gold Star Diploma in Multimedia Journalism from the prestigious News Associates. Laurence has reported from Spain for some of the UK's biggest titles, including MailOnline, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Sun Online. He also has a Master's Degree in International Relations from Queen Mary University London.
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Popular News
Costa del SolNews

British father-of-two, 37, falls to his death from sixth floor of Torremolinos hotel

Laurence Dollimore
February 6, 2026
WATCH: Ground visibly collapsing behind homes in flood-hit Malaga after army evacuates residents
WATCH: Storm Leonardo latest in Andalucia: Power cuts and evacuations affect thousands while homes submerged – as deluge continues
Severe weather is NOT over: Storm Marta to hit Andalucia and put worst-hit areas back on alert
Warning for homeowners in Spain: The MANY signs you’re being targeted by burglars or squatters

Events

11
Feb
11
Feb

Mystic Paint & Sip: Oracle Edition

2026-02-11 @ 04:30 PM
24 Calle del Castillo, 29640 Fuengirola, Spain
Load more listings
Add an Event

You Might Also Like

Costa del CrimeNews

British mother arrested in Marbella after baby tests positive for cocaine

February 11, 2026
MalagaNewsWeather

Hundreds evacuated in Malaga over fears out-of-use dam will fail ahead of more rainfall

February 11, 2026
CadizMalagaNewsTravel

IN PICS: ‘Surreal’ damage to Cadiz-Ronda road following carousel of Atlantic storms

February 11, 2026
CadizMalagaNews

Hundreds of earthquakes hit Malaga and Cadiz in a week: What to know as monitoring increased

February 10, 2026

Categories

  • News
  • Costa del Sol
  • Weather
  • Travel
  • Andalucia
  • Crime
  • Costa del Crime
  • Health
  • Property
  • Life in Spain

The Spanish Eye

Your first look at what’s happening in Andalucia Spain - All the latest news, opinion and analysis.
Quick Link
  • Home
  • News
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
Top Categories
  • News
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Property

Get News straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

Please wait…

Thank you for signing up!

© The Spanish Eye 2024 - All rights reserved | Privacy Policy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?

Not a member? Sign Up