Barcelona Struggling With Excess Tourism as Locals Protest

Barcelona is currently grappling with a tourism crisis, which is urging authorities to take drastic action, including raising tourism taxes, to quell the mass tourism that forced locals to protest en masse.

In recent months, locals have come out in large numbers to protest against crowded public spaces, rising pollution, and expensive housing, which are only some of the unwanted consequences of over-tourism.

The rising housing crisis is one of the major concerns of protesters, as over-tourism has increased rents by almost 18% in the city compared to last year. In the past decade, rental costs in the city have gone up by 68%, while the cost of purchasing a house has increased by nearly 38%.

Despite these protests, the number of tourists entering Barcelona is only expected to increase in the upcoming months due to the 2024 America’s Cup, which has already started on August 22 and will last till October 20. Critics believe that this yacht racing event is only for “rich” and “elite” people, but it will eventually increase prices equally for everyone.

Martí Cuso, an anti-America Cup activist, stated that this event is not like the Olympics, where normal people are interested in the event, adding that this sport is designed for rich people who can go to sea in their own boats to see the yacht race.

Last year, rising tourism urged the government to erect fences around the historic Carmel Bunkers, which was one of the biggest tourist attractions in Barcelona. Many young tourists found these bunkers a place to drink and loitering, which tested the patience of local residents. Despite the fences, young tourists jumping these barriers have become a common spectacle, which is disturbing many locals. A 57-year-old local resident, Manoli Fernández, stated that their family used to have good quality time in the neighborhood, but now drunk tourists pee on their doorsteps.

Anti-tourism demonstrations in Barcelona heated up just last month when thousands of protesters came out and sprayed water on tourists. Protesters carried placards and banners with different slogans like “Tourist GO HOME,” “This is not tourism, it’s an invasion,” and many others as the city government announced desperate measures to curb the uprising.

Recently, the socialist mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, noted that the government is aiming to shut down almost 10,000 tourist rental facilities by 2028. The city administration also increased the tourism tax for overnight stays by €0.75 per person per night, something that critics believe is too low to push tourists away from the city.