Residents angry in Europe's tourist hotspots

Chronic overcrowding in some of Europe's beloved tourism hotspots is fueling an angry backlash, from polite protest to "Go Home" graffiti and even physical intimidation.

Across southern Europe, from the choked boulevards of Gaudi's Barcelona to the swarms of cruise liners disgorging passengers into Croatia's mediaeval Dubrovnik, residents are complaining that a sharp rise in tourism is making life intolerable.

The backlash has sparked concerns for one of the region's biggest economic drivers and prompted authorities to act.

Rome is considering limiting visitor numbers to parts of the eternal city, such as the Trevi fountain. Dubrovnik plans to limit cruise ships. Barcelona is planning a new tourism tax.

In Venice last month, residents marched through a throng of visitor to protest against uncontrolled tourism. They did so behind a banner: "My future is Venice."

Youth activists plan a similar protest in San Sebastin, northern Spain, later this month.

In Barcelona, where anger has been brewing for some time, some graffiti has turned menacing. One slogan, featuring a black silhouette with a red target on its head, reads: "Why call it tourist season if we can't shoot them?"

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy intervened this week after some anti-tourist anger turned physical. A video emerged of masked activists setting off flares outside a restaurant full of tourists on the island of Palma de Majorca. They then entered the restaurant and threw confetti at frightened diners.

Rajoy described the activists as "extremists going against common sense." Tourism makes up 12 percent of Spain's economy.

Similar videos were released this week under the slogan "tourism kills neighborhoods." In one,...