According to official reports in the Spanish tourist hotspot, some 2,800 Barcelona residents held a second demonstration against mass tourism on Sunday.
The protesters cited rising accommodation and other costs as a reason for imposing restrictions on Spain’s lucrative tourism sector, the newspaper La Vanguardia reported. Customers at restaurants popular with tourists were sprayed with water from water pistols.
Similar demonstrations have taken place in recent weeks on the Mediterranean island of Mallorca, the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean and in Malaga in southern Spain.
The protesters point to environmental pollution, traffic congestion, overcrowding, water shortages and the overload of health and waste disposal systems.
In Barcelona they held up banners saying: “Tourists, go home. You are not welcome.”
The conversion of many homes into holiday apartments has driven up rents, which in Barcelona have risen by 68% in the past decade. Many residents have been forced to flee to dormitory areas on the outskirts of the city, and young people are living with their parents.
Barcelona plans to ban holiday apartment rentals altogether by the end of 2028 by refusing to renew permits, with landlords threatening legal action in response.
In Malaga, thousands of people demonstrated against the ‘invasion’ of foreign tourists.
Spain is expecting a whopping 91 million holidaymakers and visitors this year, almost twice its population of 48 million. Tourism is estimated to bring in €125 billion ($136 billion) a year.
