Demonstrators march throughout a protest towards mass tourism on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas alley, on July 6, 2024. Protests towards mass tourism have multiplied in latest months throughout Spain, the world’s second-most visited nation. Agence France-Presse
BARCELONA — Hundreds of protesters marched Saturday in Barcelona to denounce mass tourism and its impact on Spain’s most visited metropolis, the newest in a collection of comparable marches within the nation.
Below the slogan “Sufficient! Let’s put limits on tourism”, some 2,800 folks — in response to police — marched alongside a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a brand new financial mannequin that would cut back the thousands and thousands of vacationers that go to yearly.
“I’ve nothing towards tourism, however right here in Barcelona we’re affected by an extra of tourism that has made our metropolis unlivable,” mentioned Jordi Guiu, a 70-year-old sociologist.
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With banners saying “Scale back tourism now!”, the protesters chanted slogans comparable to “Vacationers out of our neighborhood”, stopping in entrance of inns to the shock of holiday makers.
Barcelona’s rising price of housing, up 68 % previously decade in response to native authorities, is likely one of the essential points for the motion, together with the consequences of tourism on native commerce and dealing circumstances within the metropolis of 1.6 million inhabitants.
“Native outlets are closing to make manner for shops that don’t serve the wants of neighborhoods. Individuals can not afford their rents,” mentioned Isa Miralles, a 35-year-old musician who lives within the Barceloneta district.
The northeastern coastal metropolis, with internationally well-known websites comparable to La Sagrada Familia, obtained greater than 12 million vacationers final yr, in response to native authorities.
To fight the “unfavourable results of mass tourism”, town council run by the Socialist Jaume Collboni introduced 10 days in the past that it was banning vacationer house leases — there are actually greater than 10,000 — by 2028 in order that they are often put again on the native housing market.
The announcement might result in a authorized battle and is opposed by an affiliation of vacationer residences who say it should simply feed the black market.
The Barcelona protests come after related demonstrations in vacationer hotspots comparable to Malaga, Palma de Mallorca and the Canary Islands.
The second most visited nation after France, Spain obtained 85 million overseas guests in 2023, a rise of 18.7 % from the earlier yr, in response to the Nationwide Statistics Institute.
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Probably the most visited area was Catalonia, whose capital is Barcelona, with 18 million, adopted by the Balearic Islands (14.4 million) and the Canary Islands (13.9 million).
