When Tourism Turns Toxic: Environmental Crisis in Europe's Overtourism Hotspots
Overtourism has transformed destinations like Naples and Tenerife into hotspots of environmental degradation and public health crises. This cross-border journalistic investigation, supported by Journalismfund.eu and published in El País, Altreconomia, and El Salto Diario, exposes how mass tourism's economic benefits come at devastating environmental costs to the very coastlines that attract millions of visitors annually.
In Naples, the combination of a failing sewage system, untreated wastewater discharges, and inadequate infrastructure has rendered large sections of the Italian coastline unsuitable for swimming, with environmental activists denouncing the transformation of once vibrant beaches into contaminated zones. Controversial projects such as the construction of new outfall pipelines near the Gaiola Marine Protected Area reveal the tension between economic development and political interests versus the urgent need to safeguard fragile marine ecosystems.
Similar environmental crises have emerged in Tenerife due to decades of uncontrolled urbanization and poor wastewater management throughout the Canary Islands. Illegal sewage outfalls and malfunctioning treatment plants release untreated waste directly into the Atlantic Ocean, resulting in repeated beach closures and endangering public health. Residents and surfers have reported infections and illnesses linked to polluted waters, while activists warn that island infrastructure has been unable to keep pace with tourism-driven growth.
This documentary photography project captures the paradox at the heart of mass tourism: the industry fuels local economies while simultaneously undermining the environmental resources on which tourism depends. Through visual documentation of contaminated coastlines, grassroots protests, and failing infrastructure, the work exposes the urgent need for systemic reforms in wastewater treatment, coastal planning, and political accountability.
In both contexts, grassroots activism emerges as vital resistance: independent from profit motives and local political interests, movements like Canarias tiene un límite play central roles in defending ocean health and residents' right to a clean environment. The project documents activists and citizens demanding transparency, infrastructure investment, and sustainable tourism policies that prioritize environmental protection over unchecked growth.
Tenerife, Spain & Naples, Italy. 2025.
Cross-border investigation supported by Journalismfund.eu and published in El País, Altreconomia, and El Salto Diario as part of comprehensive coverage of overtourism's environmental impacts across European coastal destinations.
Done along with Lucrezia Tiberio, Miguel Velasco Almendral y Max Cavallari
