In a recent series rounding up European sentiment about tourists from across the globe, British tourists received sharp-tongued reviews from Spaniards for excessive drinking and racist behaviour

In a recent round up of countries with the worst tourists, Brits did not fare very well. The Telegraph set out to understand what Europeans really think about tourists from around the world to understand what type of tourist is the worst and why.

European natives were asked to describe their feelings about German, Australian, Spanish, and Italian, Chinese, French and American tourists. When it came time to describe the EU sentiment about British tourists, surveyed residents did not hold back.

But some of the worst reviews of British tourists came from Spain, which is not particularly surprising given how the country pushed back against UK tourists last summer. Spanish locals ranked British tourists the worst of the bunch, with one bar owner in Barcelona telling The Telegraph: “I think many of the British who come here forget that this is a place where people live too.”

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The report found that the British tradition of heading to Spain for stag and hen parties and, subsequently “drinking their body weight in booze” has impacted Spanish sentiment toward British tourists over the years. Others said they were “fed up” with British tourists assuming that everyone speaks English, finding they become loud and abusive when they find out some locals do not.

It was not all bad news, though. Some Spanish locals did acknowledge that in quieter resorts, British travellers are typically well behaved. These locals were keen to stress that British travellers are certainly welcome.

That said, the relationship between Spanish locals and British tourists has only gotten increasingly rocky over the years. Last summer things took an aggressive turn when anti-tourism protests erupted across Spain, Italy and Europe, with British tourists called out as part of the root of the problem.

Some British natives agree that the protests are justified and don’t take offense. As one user writes on Quora: “From what I can tell, the protests are aimed at overtourism rather than tourists themselves, British or otherwise. And, to be fair, I sympathise with the locals, in Spain and everywhere else in the world complaining of the deleterious effects of mass tourism.”

While expressing sympathy for the locals, the user did note that deterring tourism too greatly may not be a smart solution: “It’s a tricky subject because, obviously, tourism can generate a lot of revenue for a country and in an uncertain world that can be important. You don’t want to become hostile to tourism and end up shutting off that tap completely.”

One London native commented that from what they’ve seen, Spanish locals have every right to be fed up. “If you get out of the mass tourism resorts the Spanish people you meet are not anti-British at all. In the resorts they see the stupid, loud antics of British guests drinking themselves into a stupor week after week, calling the waiters Manuel and all the same tired old jokes, showing no respect for anyone. British tourists have a bad name in many places, not just Spain.”

This summer is set to be a defining year for tourism is Europe, as locals across Italy, Spain, Greece and other hotspot destinations prepare to protest once again. The first waves of protests have already kicked off.

One the first weekend of April, thousands of protestors took to the streets across 42 cities in Spain to shed light on the housing shortage and soaring rental prices that have been exacerbated by overtourism. In Madrid, more than 150,000 protestors marched through the capital’s centre, according to the local tenants’ union.

Speaking anonymously to The Mirror, one Spanish protest leader said millions of British holidaymakers could face major disruptions this summer as militant groups could block airports and beaches. The protest leader shared: “The general mood is one of growing frustration, indignation, and despair. People feel that they are being expelled from their own land and that their fundamental rights are not being protected. People have had enough.”