Anti-tourist protesters blast foreigners with WATER PISTOLS in march through Barcelona telling visitors to 'go home'
07/07/2024 04:59 AM
AROUND 2,800 protesters took to Barcelona’s streets and drenched holidaymakers using water guns in the latest anti-tourism demonstration.
Locals marched along a waterfront district of the city with their powerful slogan “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism”.
Dramatic footage shows mass crowds of Barcelona locals on Saturday bearing placards and, bizarrely, water guns.
Two women are seen pointing their water pistols at tourists with stern looks on their faces.
Some unlucky holidaymakers are sprayed as they’re going about their evening, with some just eating their dinner outdoors at restaurants.
The tourists flee the scene, presumably in an attempt to keep their clothes and belongings dry.
Protesters were proudly holding signs reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists go home” as they walked the popular tourist spots of the city.
A motive for the moment is Barcelona’s current housing crisis that has reportedly seen home costs rise by 68per cent in the last decade.
Rents also rose by 18per cent in June from a year earlier in tourist cities like Barcelona and Madrid, according to Idealista.
Some locals blame the rising prices on tourists, sparking outrage and therefore encouraging protests.
Barcelona’s mayor, Juame Collboni, announced a plan in June to phase out short-term lets by 2028.
It’s been seen as a rather extreme and unexpected move by authorities.
But many still feel that locals are not prioritised in the city, with not enough being done to balance tourism with residents.
One local, 35-year-old musician Isa Miralles said: “Local shops are closing to make way for stores that do not serve the needs of neighbourhoods.
“People cannot afford their rents.”
Another resident, Jordi Guiu, said: “I have nothing against tourism, but here in Barcelona we are suffering from an excess of tourism that has made our city unlivable.”
Barcelona attracted more than a whopping 12 million tourists last year, local authorities report.
In an attempt to remedy the “negative effects of mass tourism”, the city council run by mayor Collboni announced a few days ago that it was banning tourist apartment rentals.
Mr Collboni’s decision could encourage a legal battle, with some tourists companies believing it could feed the black market.
The protest comes as anti-tourist fury continues to sweep Spain, with protesters expected to run rife across Majorca this summer.
Campaigners threatened to block the international airport in Palma by massing cars outside and causing a traffic gridlock.
And thousands are expected to take to the streets of Majorca in anti-tourist protests this weekend after similar demonstrations were seen in Tenerife and other Canary Islands last month.
Organisers said about 2,000 people were initially due to join the protests, which will begin about 7pm tomorrow in Palma, but it was now looking like there would be “considerably more”.
Protesters expressed fury over the high cost of renting and buying homes on the island, which they say is the result of tourism.
Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots
A WAVE of anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe to curb mass tourism in popular holiday hotspots.
Overcrowding has become the main problem in many sunny destinations, with authorities trying to find a solution to keep tourists and locals happy.
Officials have attempted to reduce the impact of holidaymakers by implementing additional taxes on tourists, or banning new hotels.
Earlier this year Venice became the first city in the world to charge an entry fee for holidaymakers after it started charging day-trippers €5 (£4.30) if visiting the historical Italian centre.
It was followed by an area in Barcelona which resorted to removing a well-used bus route from Apple and Google Maps to stop crowds of tourists from using the bus.
Meanwhile, San Sebastián in the north of Spain, limited the maximum number of people on guided visits to 25 to avoid congestion, noise, nuisance and overcrowding.
The city has already banned the construction of new hotels.
The Spanish government has allowed restaurants to charge customers more for sitting in the shade in Andalucia.
Benidorm has introduced time restrictions, as swimming in the sea between midnight and 7am could cost a whopping £1,000.
The Canary Islands are also considering adopting measures to regulate the number of visitors – and charge tourists a daily tax.
Greece has already enforced a tourist tax during the high season (from March to October) with visitors expected to pay from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night, depending on the booked accommodation.
Officials in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia want to introduce a fee for travellers to remind people to be courteous during their trips.
