Demonstrators march throughout a protest in opposition to mass tourism on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas alley, on July 6, 2024. Protests in opposition to mass tourism have multiplied in current months throughout Spain, the world’s second-most visited nation. Agence France-Presse
BARCELONA — Hundreds of protesters marched Saturday in Barcelona to denounce mass tourism and its impact on Spain’s most visited metropolis, the newest in a sequence of comparable marches within the nation.
Below the slogan “Sufficient! Let’s put limits on tourism”, some 2,800 individuals — in line with police — marched alongside a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a brand new financial mannequin that would scale back the thousands and thousands of vacationers that go to yearly.
“I’ve nothing in opposition to tourism, however right here in Barcelona we’re affected by an extra of tourism that has made our metropolis unlivable,” stated Jordi Guiu, a 70-year-old sociologist.
READ: Mass protests in Canary Islands decry overtourism
With banners saying “Cut back tourism now!”, the protesters chanted slogans similar to “Vacationers out of our neighborhood”, stopping in entrance of motels to the shock of tourists.
Barcelona’s rising price of housing, up 68 % prior to now decade in line with native authorities, is likely one of the principal points for the motion, together with the consequences of tourism on native commerce and dealing circumstances within the metropolis of 1.6 million inhabitants.
“Native retailers are closing to make means for shops that don’t serve the wants of neighborhoods. Individuals can’t afford their rents,” stated Isa Miralles, a 35-year-old musician who lives within the Barceloneta district.
READ: Flooded with sightseers, Europe’s iconic church buildings wrestle to accommodate each worship and tourism
The northeastern coastal metropolis, with internationally well-known websites similar to La Sagrada Familia, acquired greater than 12 million vacationers final yr, in line with native authorities.
To fight the “destructive results of mass tourism”, the town council run by the Socialist Jaume Collboni introduced 10 days in the past that it was banning vacationer condominium leases — there at the moment are greater than 10,000 — by 2028 in order that they are often put again on the native housing market.
The announcement may result in a authorized battle and is opposed by an affiliation of vacationer flats who say it can simply feed the black market.
The Barcelona protests come after comparable demonstrations in vacationer hotspots similar to Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and the Canary Islands.
The second most visited nation after France, Spain acquired 85 million overseas guests in 2023, a rise of 18.7 % from the earlier yr, in line with the Nationwide Statistics Institute.
Your subscription couldn’t be saved. Please attempt once more.
Your subscription has been profitable.
Essentially the most visited area was Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, with 18 million, adopted by the Balearic Islands (14.4 million) and the Canary Islands (13.9 million).
