Spain: Protests Held In Barcelona Against Mass Tourism, Tourists Sprayed With Water Guns

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Thousands of residents of Barcelona protested against mass tourism, claiming that tourists increased prices and put pressure on public services in Spain's most visited city.

The anti-tourist protesters on Saturday sprayed tourists with water guns while chanting:“Tourists go home!”

Some protesters also carried signs with slogans including“Barcelona is not for sale”.

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According to a report by CNN citing Barcelona's City Council, some 2,800 people demonstrated against mass tourism in the centre of Barcelona on Saturday.

A group of more than 100 local organisations, led by the Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic (Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth) had organised the demonstration.

According to the CNN report, the Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic claimed that tourists increase prices and put pressure on public services, while profits from the tourism industry are unfairly distributed.

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The group also alleged that these tourists increase social inequality.

Recently, similar protests were also held in the Canary Islands and Mallorca, decrying the impact on living costs and quality of life for local people due to mass tourism in Spain.

Around 26 million tourists made an overnight stay in the Barcelona region in 2023, spending €12.75 billion ($13.8 billion), according to official data, as per the report.

The protesting group has proposed several steps to reduce the number of tourists and transition Barcelona to a new tourism model.

It has also proposed closing cruise ship terminals, regulating tourist accommodation more, and ending public spending on tourism promotion.

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Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni on Saturday highlighted a series of measures he had announced recently to reduce the impact of mass tourism on living costs for the locals.

He had announced raising the nightly tourist tax to €4 ($4.30) and limiting the number of cruise ship passengers.

Last month, Collboni had also said that apartment rentals for tourists will be ended by 2028 by scrapping short-term rental licences for more than 10,000 apartments.

Rents had increased 68 per cent in the past 10 years, with the cost of buying a house up 38 per cent, according to Collboni.

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