Fed up with mass tourism, Europe's hotspots take away the welcome mat

"Never again a summer like this": Exasperated with the hordes of visitors they blame for making their city unlivable, Barcelona residents have risen in protest.

The hugely popular Catalan metropolis has become the latest European hotspot to eye tourism with hostility.

From the romantic canals of Venice to the walled mediaeval town of Dubrovnik via the wilderness of Scotland's Isle of Skye, tourism is morphing into a nightmare for many locals, despite the jobs and income it undoubtedly generates.

In the trendy seaside Barceloneta district of Barcelona, residents have for years complained about anti-social behavior like drunkenness and sex in public areas, as well as a leap in rental prices that has forced many locals out.

"We don't want tourists in our buildings," read banners in a protest over the weekend, in which dozens of locals took to a beach that draws revelers from all over the world.

Similar demonstrations have flared in other parts of Spain, the world's third tourism destination.

This summer in Palma de Majorca in the popular Balearic Islands, activists burst into the port, setting off flares of red smoke and throwing confetti over people eating at a restaurant.

Others assaulted a bus full of tourists in Barcelona, painting over its windscreen and giving passengers a fright.

Beyond these protests, officials too have started addressing the problem of overcrowding.

The Balearic Islands, for instance, have just limited to just over 623,000 the number of visitors that can stay in hotels or legal rental accommodation in one go.

Faced with the protests and criticism, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy was forced to defend a sector that counts for 11 percent of Spain's...