La Rambla in Barcelona, that place visited every day by thousands of tourists and avoided by locals, has been chosen to start the massive demonstration against mass tourism that has brought together thousands of people in the Catalan capital and many others in Girona.
The protesters have tied washing lines between the lampposts, from which they have hung T-shirts with slogans such as 'Tourists go home, refugees welcome' or 'Barcelona is not for sale'.
Around 3,000 people (according to the Guàrdia Urbana) and 15,000 according to the organization have filled the streets of Barcelona to protest against mass tourism in a demonstration called by several neighborhood platforms under the slogan “Enough. Let's put limits on tourism.” The inhabitants of the Catalan capital have protested against “the deep discomfort caused by the deteriorating conditions caused by tourist speculation”, while the people of Girona, despite less pressure, have “taken less time to react, denounce and propose alternatives”, as explained by the organizers of the demonstration.
In Barcelona, the meeting point was Plaça Drassanes, not by chance. This is the entrance to the port where cruise ships disembark, which will bring more than 3.5 million tourists to the city in 2023 (52% more than the previous year and 20% more than before the pandemic), according to figures from the Port of Barcelona.
Then the march continued along the Passeig Colom until the doors of the Barceloneta district, one of the most stressed districts by tourism. It is a fishing district that has become very attractive to tourists due to its proximity to the sea and its small apartments expats. Proof of this is that the average rental price for an apartment of 30 square meters costs 1,300 euros and where it is difficult to find housing that is not intended for seasonal rental.
This situation has worsened in recent months, in the run-up to the Copa América de Vela celebrations, during which the neighbourhood will experience several effects. For example, neighbours will have to prove themselves as residents or workers in the area, so that they are not affected by the traffic cuts that will be implemented. In addition, they would also serve to overcome the street and beach closures that the city council believes may be necessary.
“They tell us that it will bring benefits to the city, that it will bring jobs, that it will bring money… But all I see is that my neighbor on the third floor has had to leave because they have converted her house into a rented apartment and that I have to be accredited to enter my own neighborhood,” says Antònia, a 56-year-old resident of Barceloneta.
“And then they have the nerve to lie to us and tell us that it will be a popular show. Come on! The popular thing is the local swimming club, not these boats that you see, who knows how many millions they cost,” adds Sílvia, Antònia’s friend and neighbor. Both have come to the demonstration “tired” of seeing how their neighborhood “has lost its essence” and they speak with nostalgia of the time when they sat in the square to breathe the fresh air, before the tourists arrived “with their bachelor parties, their mattresses and their drunkenness.”
The demonstration has spread through the heart of this neighborhood. From his balcony, Ramón addressed a few words to the demonstrators through a microphone. “Do not let yourselves be manipulated and do not give in to this system that throws us out of our homes.” Specifically, Ramón is a neighbor whose owner wants to kick him out of his house to turn it into a seasonal rental apartment.
30 million tourists per year
The demonstration, which moves along to the rhythm of a rumba, has attracted the attention of passers-by and tourists alike. When asked if they knew the reason for the action, a group of French people answered firmly. “Of course it is one of those expressions that are so typical of the Catalans. You are such a political people. “I think it is great!” they said. When they were corrected, their faces changed. “Well, I don’t understand why you are protesting against tourism. We bring you a lot of money.”
While this conversation was taking place, the protesters chanted various slogans in English while looking directly at a group of visitors, which aroused the latter's indignation. “Wherever you look, everything is guiris,” the organizers continued.
According to the latest barometers of the city council, 61% of Barcelona residents believe that tourism in the city has reached its limit. Statistics even indicate that this summer will be a record and that the figures of 2019 will be exceeded, in a context where 30 million tourists arrive every year and where 10% of the people who walk around Barcelona every day. are visitors. “But they want to give us more hotels”, complains Antònia.
It refers to the fact that the mayor of Barcelona, Jaume Collboni, believes that The city has capacity for 5,000 additional hotel beds (plus another 15,000 in the metropolitan area) and that the city must “relaunch itself internationally.” In fact, last November the mayor already agreed with Junts to partially lift the suspension of the hotel permits designed by Colau, so that allow 'unique' hotels to open in the city centre.
The mayor's idea is to focus on quality tourism and for this reason he gives priority to the hotel sector over tourist apartments. In fact, he recently announced that Over the next four years, it would close the 10,000 the city has. This has been received as good news by neighbours and entities, but they warn of the risks this may entail.
“It is a measure that, even if it were implemented, would be useless as long as the figure of the seasonal rental as a refuge from regulations of the rental,” says Daniel Pardo, spokesman for the Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic, one of the organizers of the demonstration. Pardo also recalls that it was precisely the PSC which quashed the law to regulate seasonal rentals in Parliament.
Mayor Jaume Collboni was the target of many of the slogans chanted during the demonstration. Those summoned denounced the socialists by shouting: “Collboni, trilero, pay me the rent”, “Collboni and capital, criminal alliance” or “Collboni, rat, you are selling Barcelona cheap”.
The demonstration has received the support of more than 200 personalities from Catalan culture, journalism and activism, such as Kiko Amat, Flavita Banana, Simona Levi and David Fernàndez. Also around two hundred entities they signed a manifesto in which they called for mobilization and lambasted the public administration for being “lukewarm” when it came to regulating tourism.
They are asking to stop the promotion of Barcelona with public funds, to abolish subsidies to the tourism sector, to reduce the number of cruise ships and to stop the expansion of the airport and port terminals. In addition, they are demanding that the celebration of macro-events such as the Mobile World Congress, the Copa America, Primavera Sound or Formula 1 be stopped.
Collboni claims his “commitment” against tourist overcrowding
The mayor of Barcelona, the socialist Jaume Collboni, has published a message on the social network and he emphasizes: “This is evident from the measures we have taken and that we will continue to implement.”
Collboni then listed the measures taken by Barcelona City Council in recent months in this regard, such as the intention to eliminate more than 10,000 tourist apartments and put them back into use through the Viure housing plan, the increase in tourism or the announced limitation on the number of cruise ships that do not stay overnight in the city.
Collboni also highlighted the implementation of the management plan for 16 high-traffic areas and ensured that the municipality demonstrates its “commitment to social return” by investing part of the tourism revenues in the air conditioning of public schools.
“We recognize the complexity of this issue and reject simplistic solutions,” said the mayor, ending his message by saying his goal is to build a balanced and sustainable tourism model “that benefits everyone.”