See how travelers are reacting to residents' protest against overtourism.
Barcelonais a beautiful city on Spain ’s Mediterranean coastline , filled with beaches , world - famous restaurant , graphics , computer architecture , clubs , culture , and sensational vistas . It is one of the most democratic tourist destinations in Europe , possibly the world . And the city ’s house physician are absolutely sick of the hordes of visitors .
A protest from metropolis residents during the first weekend of July demonstrated just how over it they were . thousand of mass flooded the streets of Barcelona , calling for a simplification in the number of visitant come to the city . One protestor tell Gallic news outletAFPthat the metropolis ’s touristry has made it " unlivable . "
Not only did tourists in the city get meet with signs that interpret " Tourists Go Home , " they were also sprayed with water guns , harmonize toCBS . But the intellect for the protests are very understandable . SpanishnewspaperEl Paísreported that lodging price in Barcelona accomplish record heights in February 2024 .
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" We have the high rental prices we have ever had , " Enric Aragonès , the spokesman for the Catalan Tenants ' Union , toldEl País . " This translate not only into people spend over half of their remuneration to pay rent , but also more and more family being force to live in substandard condition because they ca n’t access comme il faut housing . "
These high housing prices and shortages can be partially accredit to the city ’s around-the-clock tourism . " The last year , the city has bend completely for tourist , and what we want is a urban center for citizen and not in table service of tourist , " one protestor toldReuters .
Comparing the routine of people who stayed in hotel in Barcelona in 1990 versus 2023 usher how the influx of tourists impact the city . In 1990 , the number of tourists staying overnight in hotel was 1.7 million , and in 2023 , it was 7.8 million , allot to Statista . However , visitors are n’t just staying in hotels in 2023 , which seems to be a big part of the problem for city residents .
Statistareported that Barcelona had over 12.3 million overnight tourists — and while 7.8 million of those tourists stay in hotels , the remainder stayed in properties like Airbnb and other types of vacation rentals . While Barcelona ’s mayor , Jaume Collboni , recently announced that there would be policy changes deal how lodging can be rented to touristry come in 2028 , many signaling from the anti - tourist protest call out Collboni .
Other protest have broken out across Spain because of overtourism . There were protests in Málaga and Palma de Mallorca , each draw crowds of thousands . Spain is far from the only pop destination that is dealing with overtourism or pushback from locals , though Barcelona ’s resident may be the first metropolis to deploy water guns to labor home their message .
In 2023 , Dubrovnik had some of theworst overtourism in the world , threatening to overtake the beautiful monuments and coastline that attracted so many to the venue in the first post . We’vealso seen it in the popularGreek island Santorini , and measures have been put in place to combat overcrowding and tourism inGreece , Italy , and other city all over the Earth . For some destinations , a tourist taxhas beenimplemented , while others imperil fines for break rules and law .
Solving the crisis of overtourism wo n’t bump overnight , but we at Thrillist always believe that you should be as minimally invasive on your travels as potential . For now , we paint a picture that you try one ofthese less interfering destinationsto avert the crowds and the water guns .
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