The weekend left a strange impression on Barcelona, ​​a thermometer of the weariness with which some of its neighbors experience the city’s tourist success. On Saturday, thousands of people marched through the center to protest the overcrowding of tourists, including 2,800 according to the Guàrdia Urbana, whose organizers put the number at 15,000. So far, it is nothing out of the ordinary, nor is it something that has been seen in other major destinations in the country, such as the Canary Islands or Mallorca. Almost more telling than the call itself or the influx are the clashes that have left protesters and tourists, including with water cannons.

Images of neighbors shooting guns, spraying tourists with water or closed terraces have reached media in other countries, echoing the city’s “anti-tourism protests” and “Tourists go home” message.

“Enough! There are restrictions on tourism”. That’s one of the slogans that authorities say took to the streets of Barcelona on Saturday, with around 3,000 people taking to the streets of Barcelona to show their rejection of tourist overcrowding and its impact on residents. The protesters gathered on Las Ramblas and headed towards Barceloneta, a major tourist hotspot. Banners and posters with slogans such as “Neighbours are in danger of extinction”, “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists should go home” were displayed during the march.

Posters… and something else. It wasn’t all about leaflets, posters, banners. If the demonstration gained visibility on networks far beyond the borders of Barcelona, ​​Catalonia or Spain, and made headlines in media such as Sky News, CNN, Daily Mail or BBC, almost all of this was due to the impression left by the protests in the United Kingdom and the United States, one of the main departure points for tourists spending their holidays in Barcelona.

Protesters used water guns on tourists during the protest. CBS News reported that customers at a restaurant in Barceloneta were soaked while eating, while others had to change tables or symbolically “close” a hotel and several terraces. Signs in English could be read during the march, warning: “Tourists go home.”

City Council rejectionThe images were not appreciated by the City Council, which condemned the disturbance and demanded respect for visitors. “The protest against mass tourism must be in line with respect for the people who visit Barcelona,” insists the Deputy Mayor of Tourism, who cited the importance of the sector and the “pioneering” policies adopted by the municipal government. Although the mayor has pledged to eliminate the city’s 10,000 tourist apartments, he sees the potential for another 5,000 hotel beds.

“Barcelona is not Disneyland”. The protesters’ aim was to decry the consequences of tourist overcrowding in the city and the impact it has on the daily lives of residents who have seen housing prices skyrocket in recent years. You don’t have to look far to see that. In the past few months, the city has actually achieved two major milestones.

While the city is on track to break a tourist record by surpassing pre-pandemic data in the first quarter, rental prices have also climbed to historic levels. Pioneer It was recently revealed that the price of a new rental in the city in the first quarter was around 1,200 euros per month.

“Tourism surplus”. Other impacts on the housing market will be compounded by the impact on the environment or urban mobility. “I have nothing against tourism but here in Barcelona we suffer from overtourism which is making our city uninhabitable,” one protester complained to AFP. “In recent years the city has become a city for tourists and we want a city for citizens,” another told Reuters.

Saturday’s demonstration made the news for its images, but the feelings that tourism has left in a part of the Barcelona population are nothing new. This is not the first time that the international media has echoed the “tourism phobia” in Barcelona, ​​and just a few months ago the City Council published a survey that left two pieces of information to ponder: first, 61.5% of Barcelona residents believe that the city’s tourism phobia has reached the limit of its capacity to attract tourists; second, 23% see it as a harmful activity.

Evidence of the difference of opinion and complexity of the debate is that the remaining 70.9% think it is beneficial for the town and a large 56% assume it is an important source of income, far beyond sectors such as trade.

Image | Zoetnet (Flickr)

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