Locals sprayed tourists with water pistols in Barcelona; while in Mallorca, residents crammed onto beach towels to show how they feel about their beaches being overrun by tourists. Travellers have been subject to a slew of new regulations, including rules on where they can and can't take selfies, fees to visit cities, fines on hiking in flip-flops and even mayors of popular holiday destinations asking travellers to stay away.

As the peak summer tourism season draws to an end, it's clear that the issue isn't over. Last month in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland in northern Finland, a tourism protest sought to draw attention to the impact mass tourism has on winter destinations too.

Unless something significant changes, a repeat of this summer's problems is likely to continue next year. Spanish tourism alone is set to grow by 5% in 2025, with more than 90 million visits expected from overseas tourists; while France looks to remain the most-visited country in the world in 2025.