Anti-tourism protestors are mobilising in Barcelona. On July 6, about 2 800 activists cordoned off restaurants and hotels in tourist districts with tape and sprayed visitors with plastic water guns.
Videos on social media showed protestors wielding signs saying: ‘Tourists go home’, and ‘Barcelona is not for sale’ as they soaked the tourists in water.
The demonstration was organised by about 150 anti-tourism organisations, spearheaded by the Neighbourhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth (ABDT), and followed similar protests in the Canary Islands and Mallorca.
The protesters' main concern is the gentrification of property which is causing a residential housing crisis, as reported by aljazeera.com. In the past 10 years, the Catalan capital’s rental prices increased by 68%, with a 16% increase in the past year alone. Purchase prices have increased by 38% over 10 years. The radical hikes in property prices and rents for locals are attributed to a takeover by private tourist accommodation and short-term rentals.
On July 6, the ABDT website fielded 13 demands to reduce the negative effects of overtourism. These demands included:
- The withdrawal of Barcelona Airport infrastructure expansion plans.
- The progressive reduction of cruise terminals in the Port of Barcelona leading to their elimination.
- The elimination of licensed and illegal private tourist accommodation.
- The reduction of tourist accommodation in the city.
- The decommodification of public space and limits on large events.
- Protecting local commerce, improving work and wage conditions for tourism sector workers and halting public funding of tourism.
- Making the tourism industry pay for its exploitation of public services.
- Thereafter, the transformation of the remaining tourism sector to orientate it to the local population.
Catalonia is Spain’s most-visited region, attracting 18 million tourists last year of which 13 million visited Barcelona. In comparison, Catalonia’s population is 7,6 million with 1,6 million residents in Barcelona.
