Problems with mass tourism reached a fever pitch in Barcelona, Spain, on Saturday, with protesters throwing objects at tourists and spraying them with water cannons and canned drinks while chanting “Tourists go home.”
Protesters angry about the city’s long-standing overtourism problem used thick police tape to block hotel entrances and roadside cafes in the small Barcelona neighborhood, symbolically shutting down the establishments.
There were about 3,000 people on site. According to local media reportsThey also marched with large banners demanding that city officials “immediately reduce tourists.”
video Photos showed people trying to avoid the crowds – some leaving their tables during meals – while others, including restaurant staff, got into verbal altercations with anti-tourism campaigners.
The demonstration coincided with Barcelona’s peak summer tourist season. According to Barcelona City Council, hotel occupancy rates were close to 80% in July and August 2023 as the city of 1.6 million people continues to expand to accommodate more than 4 million tourists.
Record-breaking number of arrivals
A protester in Barcelona on July 6, 2024.
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But the delicate dance between locals and tourists has been spiraling long before that.
According to Barcelona City Council, the number of hotels in the city quadrupled from 1990 to 2023 to accommodate the large number of tourists, with the number of tourists soaring from 1.7 million to 7.8 million during the same period. The report notes that this does not include the millions of people traveling to the outskirts of the city.
The city is buckling under the weight of the Barcelona cruise port as thousands of day-trippers flock to the city. The port will handle about 2.2 million passengers by 2023, compared with 560,000 in 2000, according to the commission’s website.
A woman was attacked by a protester while dining at a restaurant in Barcelona.
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The result, activists say, is that many locals can no longer live in the city – most notably due to the property market, which has seen rents rise by 68% in the past 10 years, according to Barcelona mayor Jaume Collboni.
Collboni announced in June that the city would ban Airbnb-style short-term home rentals by 2028.
On July 6, 2024, two tourists on bicycles were stopped in front of a demonstration against mass tourism in Barcelona.
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A report titled “Perceptions of Tourism in Barcelona” published by the Barcelona City Council in 2023 showed that more residents believe that tourism is beneficial to the city than harmful. However, reports show that the gap between these numbers has narrowed over the years.
Half of the 1,860 people surveyed said they had changed where they went in the city because of tourists. “They avoid the large area around the city center (Plaza Catalunya, Las Ramblas, Gothic Quarter, Raval, Old Town, seaside) and the Sagrada Familia area. In terms of specific spaces, Park Guell is at the top .
Even those who recognize tourism’s contribution to the economy are disappointed with the number of visitors to the city, the report said.
“There is a growing consensus that Barcelona has reached the limits of its tourist capacity,” it noted.
