[imagesource:x/bbcnews]

Thousands of protesters, including more than 150 organisations, marched through Barcelona on Saturday to protest against ‘over-tourism’, which they claim is making the Spanish city ‘unliveable’.

Locals blame skyrocketing rent prices on the thousands of tourists and have now taken to harassing them with water guns to make their point.

Protestors carried signs reading: “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists go home.”

Barcelona was the 20th-most-visited city in the world by international visitors and the fifth-most-visited city in Europe after London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome. Opposition to foreigners has been growing for years, but the recent spike in living costs worldwide seems to have finally pushed the locals too far.

Not yet at the point of taking to the streets with pitchforks and torches, the Barcelona protestors got their point across by spraying water at tourists along their route. Made-for-Instagram moments from the rallies were widely shared across social media, showing angry locals with colourful water guns hosing down tourists in street-side cafes who were just hoping to enjoy a delicious gelato.

Barcelona Tourism Observatory said the city welcomed 15.6 million tourists and the region nearly 26 million in 2023. The Department for Studies at the Manager’s Office for Economy and Economic Promotion puts tourist spending in the city at 9,6 billion euros.

Similar to other tourist-favourite cities, the influx of foreign visitors has resulted in local service and rentals increasing, with Barcelona and other popular cities like Madrid experiencing an 18% increase in rentals in the last year alone.

“The city has turned completely for tourists and what we want is a city for citizens and not in service of tourists.”

“Here in Barcelona, we are suffering from an excess of tourism that has made our city unliveable.”

Barcelona increased its tourist tax in April, and the city also announced plans to ban all short-term rentals in June. However, many locals feel that not enough is being done, as living in the city has become unaffordable for many people. The Spanish destination even banned cruise ships from docking at their ports in 2023 to help alleviate overcrowding and pollution.

Barcelona is not alone in its fight against overtourism. Japan has also taken measures to control tourist overcrowding and has even gone as far as constructing walls to cover Instagram-perfect shots of Mount Fuji. Venice has indicated that intervention is needed to curb overcrowding along its waterways.

Capetonians likely have some sympathy for these protestors. However, it’s a double-edged sword for us. On the one hand, the tourists that flock to Cape Town bring billions of rands to the city and its economy. On the other hand, accommodating foreign visitors has made many attractions and restaurants unaffordable for locals.

It doesn’t have to be one or the other, but tourist-heavy cities should find ways to accommodate locals who don’t earn pounds and dollars.

[source:businessinsider]