Barcelona’s hotel association called Saturday’s protests, in which demonstrators sprayed water at tourists with coloured plastic pistols and surrounded areas with barricade tape, “unacceptable”.
Around 3,000 people from 140 different organisations took to the streets of Barcelona to voice their opposition to the “massive influx of tourists” into the city, which they say “exacerbates” social inequalities, problems with access to housing and the environmental crisis.
Tourists take a photo during a demonstration against mass tourism in Barcelona on July 6, 2024 / Jordi Borras
In a statement shared with Catalan News, the business group said: “Despite the protests being driven by a very limited number of local residents with specific opinions about a particular social movement, [Barcelona] “It is a very tourist-friendly city and there is no general anti-tourism sentiment,” the statement reads.
The guild said it should be asked to “seek to explain” various policies to manage Barcelona’s tourism sector, such as promoting coexistence between local residents and tourists, but also to shift its marketing campaigns to primarily reach “interested tourists”, the document said.
Tourists take a photo surrounded by barricade tape during a demonstration against mass tourism in Barcelona city center on July 6, 2024 / Jordi Borras
“The positive economic, labour, social and cultural impacts of tourism, as well as its impact on other urban industries, such as science and technology, must be highlighted,” it added.
Under the slogan “Enough is enough! Limit tourism!”, the protests are demanding measures to reduce the number of visitors ahead of what is expected to be a record-breaking summer season in Catalonia.
According to the latest data from the Catalan Statistics Institute, 2 million tourists visited Catalonia in May this year, a 5.9% increase on May last year.
A group of visitors to Barcelona poses for a photo during a demonstration against mass tourism in the city center on July 6, 2024 / Jordi Borras
Protesters are also sceptical of Barcelona’s social mayor Jaume Corboni’s plans to reduce the number of tourist apartments in Barcelona, arguing he would instead add 5,000 hotel beds in the city and 15,000 in the capital region.
Similar protests took place in the northern Catalan city of Girona on the same day.
The recent protests are part of a larger wave of anti-tourism protests across Spain in traditionally popular tourist destinations, including the Canary and Balearic Islands, the Costa del Sol in southern Spain and Malaga.
A cocktail bar restaurant in Barcelona surrounded by barricade tape during a demonstration against mass tourism on July 6, 2024 / Jordi Borras Catalans support boosting tourism
Nearly 75% of Catalans – three in four – are in favour of continuing to promote tourism in Catalonia, according to a public survey published on Friday by CEO, a research institute owned by the Catalan government.
Meanwhile, half of respondents believe tourism limits local activities and public spaces, and 46% say tourism has reached its limits in their county or region.
Anti-mass tourism demonstrators hold up posters at a rally on July 6, 2024 / Jordi Borras
The survey was conducted between March 12 and May 19.
Of those who support continuing tourism promotion, 24% strongly agree and 50% agree, but 39% either disagree or strongly disagree.
