An activist has blasted ‘egocentric’ tourists who treat locals in Spain ‘like servants’.

Writer Carlos Ramirez, known as La Calva Tatuada (the tattooed bald) online, said he had no problem with people going on holiday, but criticised the way many now travel.

Speaking about mass tourism on Radio 3 programme Generacion Ya, he said travel had become ‘contaminated by social media’, with visitors flocking to the same viral destinations simply to ‘show off’.

‘We are increasingly seeing cities as something to consume rather than places where people live,’ he said.

‘I don’t think there is anything wrong with visiting somewhere you like. The issue is how you go, when you go and where you stay.

‘Are you using an Airbnb or a tourist flat? What are you consuming while you are there? Are you going to McDonald’s or Starbucks? How are you treating local people? Are they going to be your servants?’

He recalled reading a report about tourists in Rome becoming furious when the Colosseum closed for a day following the death of a worker.

‘It’s like, are you an a*****e or what?’ he said. ‘There is this egocentrism among tourists – but why? Because the entire economy validates it.

‘You arrive in a city and everything has been designed for tourists. Here in Barcelona, for example, La Rambla and much of the Ciutat Vella district are geared towards guiris.

‘So how are they not going to feel superior and prioritised over local residents and then behave accordingly?

‘That is what I criticise, not the fact that someone wants to catch a flight and spend the weekend in Albacete.’

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