‘Tourists go home!’ How Barcelona’s biggest resource gets rejected by its own residents.

Gepost op door jetpacksz

By Giorgos Brentjes & Dario ColomboPhoto edited with https://www.tuxpi.com

Barcelona, a city full of historical landmarks and beautiful sights for everyone to enjoy. The warm temperature, strategic location and long history attracts millions of tourists to the city every single year, which turned tourism into Barcelona’s most important source of income.

Last year alone, 70.3% of Barcelona’s income, came from the touristic sector. An increase of nearly 13% over the last ten years alone, which points out the importance of the sector to the Catalan capital (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2017).

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70,3% of all economic resources in Barcelona last year originated from the touristic sector.  Source: Ajuntament de Barcelona (Presentació de resultats Percepció del Turisme del Barcelona), 2017

The table above shows how the tourism sector has provided nearly three quarters of Barcelona’s income over 2017. Tourism creates jobs, improves the image of the city for international partners, attracts international interest and much more.

With these positive numbers and developments, it seems that no one could turn down tourism. But, these benefits don’t always please every stakeholder…

On the edge
As stated before, not everyone in Barcelona can appreciate the best interests and influences of tourism in the city. Despite that 83,7% describe tourism as ´beneficial´ for the city, the majority of the Barcelonans admit that the city has reached its limit (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2017).

According to a study, carried out by the council of Barcelona in 2017, negative sentiments have reached an all-time high among the citizens of Barcelona. For example, complaints about drunken tourists, the bad smell or the crowded streets are stated in the research, but darker complaints came to light after the publication of the study (Ajuntament de Barcelona, 2017).

Illegal touristic housing, Barcelona locals forced away from the city center and a city council that, according to Barcelonans, takes the matter too lightly.
All these sentiments evolved into a serious phenomenon called ´turismofobia´.

The counter-culture
‘When life gives you lemons, make lemonade´, a very famous has lost its value in the eyes of many Barcelonans. Even though the aforementioned statistic shows a positive sentiment, the negative side of tourism has awakened an anger among a growing group.

One group called Arran, the youth organization of the Catalan Pro-Independence Left, rose to attention after attacking a bus full of British tourists in August 2017 (The Sun, 2018). Ever since, more outspoken protests have spread across the city of Barcelona, such as the ‘raid’ on Park Güell in June of this year.
Members of Arran chained themselves to the famous mosaic dragon at the entrance and fired flares in the air, accompanied by anti-tourism banners (El Periodico, 2018).

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The moment of the protest by Arran at Park Güell earlier this year. Catalan police forces arrived quickly turned down the protest and arrested two. Credit: @Arran_Jovent

Apart from the outspoken manifestations like the bus attack and the Park Güell chaining, more ‘innocent’, but threatening nonetheless, ways of protesting have appeared across the touristic neighborhoods of the city.

Graffiti that contains the text ‘Tourists Go Home!’, encouraging ‘balconing’ (an act that involves jumping into a pool from a balcony and has caused many casualties in the past) or ‘borrowing’ bikes from a multinational company (preferente.com, 2018).

Source: @Arran_Jovent on Twitter

The youth has set its sights on a Barcelona that is less dependent on mass tourism and capitalism, all the while protecting its heritage and Catalan pride. But, at what price?

The crackdown
Arran decided to do what the council of Barcelona has been soft on for a long time: take care of the problems that tourism carries with it.

Taking another glance at the published report, it shows that the sentiment towards the council is at an all-time low, dropping as much as 14% since 2015. The following graph shows the developments in sentiment over the last eight years.

Graph on sentiment toward council
The negative sentiments have risen drastically since 2013, while the faith in the council has reached an all time low. A drop as big of nearly 15% shows that the Barcelonans are looking for a wind of change. Source: Ajuntament de Barcelona (Presentació de resultats Percepció del Turisme del Barcelona), 2017

Two people who have lost faith are Adría, (21) and Xavi (24) who have seen friends and relatives succumb to the power of tourism.

What are your opinions on the tourism in Barcelona?
Adría: Enough is enough. I mean, I know that tourism is very good for the city of Barcelona, but when people are forced out of their home… The government has to stand up to this crazy stuff.

Xavi: Exactly. Local people shouldn’t be the victim of the mass tourism. I have the same opinion as Adría, as tourism greatly benefits the economy of not only Barcelona, but also Catalonia. But, the limit is close. Regulations should be forced quickly!

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Adría (left) and Xavi (right) are concerned for the Barcelona locals, as low-cost social housing forces Barcelona locals, including their friends and family, out of their homes.

Are you also aware of the turismofobia movement?
Xavi: Yes, I have seen the great amout of graffiti on the walls and also heard about the protests against tourists. In my opinion, it’s not the best way to go at it, but I can understand them.

Adría: Same, as violence is not the option against innocent tourists. Of course, not every tourist is innocent, but not every tourist should be held accountable for the inconvenience. Throwing stuff at innocent people is a bit too much.

What would be the best option for Barcelona against mass tourism?
Xavi: The fight against illegal apartments should be the first thing. If old people are forced out of their homes and if young Catalans are unable to find a house, then the government should act against that. We are the future, not the tourists…

Adría: Fully agree on that, as the government is too soft on how tourism dominates Barcelona. If you live in Gracía and you can’t even walk outside for a chill, then it’s time to act. The government should take the illegal apartments serious, because the poor elderly can’t even go anywhere without being confronted with the bad side of tourism.

In conclusion, the beauty of tourism will also leave its bad taste behind when there’s not enough regulation. Groups taking matters into their own hands can lead to extremist measures, such as turismofobia.

Tourism is and will remain a huge source of income for Barcelona, but the first signals have been very apparent and need to be heard. To quote Freddy Mercury’s famous homage to Barcelona, ¡Viva, Barcelona!’

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