Residents of the Spanish beach destination have a message for tourists: ‘Come home’
Residents of Barcelona are saying enough about the massive amounts of tourists flocking to the main destination city along Spain’s northeast coast and have called on the authorities to take corrective action.
As tourist rates once again edge closer to pre-pandemic levels, locals are pushing back with signs reading ‘Go Home’ and ‘Tourism is Killing Neighborhoods’ spreading across city neighborhoods, including major tourist sites like La Rambla boulevard and the city’s opera house, Reuters reported on Friday.
The move to limit the number of tourists who can flock to the Mediterranean city, especially by cruise ship, comes as Spaniards prepare for local and regional elections scheduled for Sunday.
A man ties protest banners to the balcony of a building which has been recently converted for tourist purposes in the Sants district of Barcelona, Spain, May 19, 2023. The banner reads: ‘No more tourist apartments’ . (REUTERS/Albert Gea)
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“We love tourism, having visitors, but tourist overcrowding triggers mobility, speculation and gentrification issues that endanger our local way of life. Therefore, we need to regulate it,” the mayor told Reuters. from Barcelona, Ada Colau.
The far-left mayor, who is seeking a third term, has made tourism regulation a cornerstone of her campaign as the issue has taken political momentum across the country.
Tourists line up at the passenger terminal to continue their journey to Barcelona Cruise Terminal at the Port of Barcelona in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, June 25, 2022. In an announcement this month, Catalonia’s regional government said that it would soon introduce measures intended to limit cruise ship arrivals at its port, which was Europe’s busiest cruise terminal before the pandemic. Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Photographer: Angel Garcia/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Although the tourism industry made up around 12% of Spain’s economy in 2019 before the country experienced mass closures and travel restrictions, some would like to see tourism better managed by limiting the number of cruise ships that can sail. stop in the port city, by removing the licenses of apartments and shops intended for tourists, or by transforming certain hotels into social housing.
A couple take selfies on the crowded Ramblas in Barcelona, Spain, May 24, 2023. (REUTERS/Albert Gea)
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Barcelona is Spain’s second-largest city, with 1.6 million people in 2019, although it welcomed some 30 million visitors in the same year, including day-trippers, who often stop when the boats cruisers dock for the day.
Spain was the second most visited country in Europe behind France before the COVID shutdowns.
Barceloneta beach, on August 5, 2021, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. (Photo by David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images) (Photo by David Zorrakino/Europa Press via Getty Images)
After the coronavirus swept the world, city authorities took the opportunity to market Barcelona as a high-end tourist destination known for its foodie attractions, with the aim of prioritizing quality over quantity – a decision that residents preferred to the teeming crowd.
But traditional tourism has increased again with a 41% increase in visitors to the city in the first quarter of 2023, compared to 2022.
One expert, Gemma Canoves, professor of geography at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, told Reuters that changes in the number of tourists visiting Barcelona in the first quarter could be due to external factors such as visitors seeking to avoid sweltering temperatures and water shortages as climate change continues. be a growing problem.
People wait for taxis after disembarking from the Wonder of the Seas cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International at Terminal C of the Port of Barcelona on July 24, 2022. (Photo by PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)
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The mayor of Barcelona has pledged to assure visitors interested in the coastal city that it still welcomes tourists, but visitors need to be better managed for the benefit of the city and its people.
“We welcome tourism, but we need to develop other strategic sectors,” she said.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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