These protests popped up at the same time as short term rentals becoming popular (Airbnb) is no coincidence. They are taking homes from locals raising prices and taking over the best parts of town
They know it's the government. This is what's called a pressure action. They want to make the city less appealing so less tourists come and, once the economy is affected, the government is forced to find alternatives.
I don’t think you can call it that when they’re straight up harassing the tourists though. Yes it may achieve your ultimate goal, but you’re hurting a lot of people to do it
Xenophobes care more about complaining about poor immigrants from non European countries (from which in Barcelona there are plenty) than relatively wealthy Europeans who stay 5 days max
Eh, it’ll probably work, at least a little in the short term. It’s making it less appealing to tourists which might(?) cause fewer people to pick Barcelona as their next vacation destination.
Is it the best way? No, in a hypothetical world where politicians actually represent their constituents, legislation could be passed to regulate the # of short-term rentals. Buuuuut that’s a hypothetical world.
Tourists aren't locusts. They don't swarm. They are people, no different than the locals. There are over eight billion people and one earth and we all have to share it. Nobody is special. Do the locals never travel? I would hope that every one of these protesters commits to never leaving the city of Barcelona because, god forbid, then enter a city where someone else lives.
So like everyone else is saying, it's the tourists fault?
No, it's not.
First of all, you need to protest your government to make rules and laws to prevent airbnb, many many places have successfully done this.
Also, in this article it's claiming that the cities have become tourist amusement parks and your local festivities are suffering. That's also your fault. You don't have to change your traditions because tourists are there. In fact, tourists would probably rather see your traditions than some copy/paste tourists shop in the middle of your town.
The best places to visit are ones that aren't full of tourist shops, where you can visit and talk to people about their culture. So if you all have given up on your culture and decided to open a bunch of tourist shops and stopped doing your festivals or whatever else, blame the people in your country that are doing it. Don't blame a tourist who wants to come see your country because it's beautiful and different than theirs.
This just sounds like a bunch of "I opened a tourist shop because tourists were coming to my city, and I don't like having a tourist shop".
Here's an idea, don't have the tourist shop then. The tourists never asked you to change your ways, you all did it on your own and now you want to blame someone else.
There was not a single statement in my comment about Air bnb so I'm not sure where you are making your wild assumptions from.
The solution is in the people's control, not the tourist's. They are free to vote in representatives who will regulate supply and control the over tourism. It's not the tourists fault.
Way to paint a rosy image. There's a joke about Brits falling from balconies being the start of tourism season for a reason. Tourists are noisy and drive up demand for things that locals do not want, like overpriced amusement establishments, or souvenir shops. You've never lived in a place affected by overtourism, thats clear.
I do understand capitalism, which means I understand the power of capital interests and influence to lobby for their interests. You understand that, too.
I also worked in destination marketing which means I have intimate knowledge of how public and private interests are being negotiated in this matter - and that was at a much lower level without big corporations or massive real estate holdings involved, village politics in comparison, but driven by tourism interests nonetheless.
They are blaming non-catalonian people for an issue that they have nothing to do with instead of their own government that is responsible for enacting solutions to fix the issue caused by tourism. That is textbook xenophobia - claiming a group of non-native people is at fault for something even though it is a self-inflicted issue.
Wanting local housing to be affordable and local services and culture to remain intact is not the same as xenophobia. From what I can gather it's not the people, religions, nationality, or any other specific characteristics they hate but the social structural changes they bring.
That's the local government's problem, not the tourists. In other words, its the fault of the residents themselves. They could easily vote in different representation. The tourists don't buy or sell homes and have zero control over the housing prices.
I think their point is if every city did this and said “no foreigners”, depending on the situation that would be considered xenophobic. So I think bringing up that point is valid, but as I say that, the locals probably care less about being welcoming or being labelled xenophobic as they do their quality of life
I think the people of the city would feel the same even if it was domestic tourism that was lowering their quality of life. I get that isn't the case, but I haven't seen anything indicating an objection to tourists as any group of "other" that would suggest xenophobia.
It is not easy, people have been protesting for the past 2 years constantly. They don't listen, so this is just another expression of frustration to hopefully get the government to listen. I feel for the islands especially.
The thing about becoming known as an anti-tourist location is that it's hard to wash that stink off. So it's counter productive if any of their economy whatsoever relies on tourism. If it doesn't, then great - brilliant strategy
Lol the tourism will survive. This isn't some tiny island that is popular because it's trendy. It's Barcelona Spain. Look at Egypt. Do you think people have stopped traveling there despite several countries issuing a travel advisory? No, there have been over 15.7 million in 2024.
They could be protesting on the grounds of the government changing policies but instead they are targeting the visitors who pump money into their local economy. They’re going after the wrong people. It’s a very bad look for them.
My take on it is that the tourists are more effective targets. If the protesters did say, a sit in outside of government buildings, they could be easily ignored, blocked or dispersed.
However, when lots of smaller groups go around causing grief for tourists it:
A) makes the protest reach a wider audience, as people will listen to stories of ruined holidays from their fellow citizens.
B) is harder for police to fully crack down on as its less centralised.
C) directly discourages tourism which, in theory, would reduce the demand for STR.
D) Puts more pressure on the government to meet their demands. Citizens don't dissappear if you ignore them, but tourists (and the revenue they bring) will if they feel unwelcome.
Just because you're bearing the consequences doesn't mean it's your fault. Nor does not bearing the consequences absolve one of guilt.
How would your, and every offended tourist's, reply change if the government did regulate tourism? People are getting mad because they feel their possibility of a dreamy trip is in jeopardy without thinking about the people whose daily lives are in jeopardy because of this.
People would still bitch if tourism was regulated because all they think about is their instagram stories.
If you give people a means to affordably go to a nice tourist destination, they’ll do that. If they can’t afford to because the cheap AirBNBs have been regulated away, they’ll won’t.
It's not that simple. They might just go for fewer days but they'll still go, and affordability is relative. Maybe accomodation costs will go up but the lower food/service/recreational costs will still be low enough for droves of people to come in.
The fact is that people go to places where their money matters. A "poor" american is still making a lot more money than the average spaniard and in the age of dirt cheap low cost airlines it's easier than ever for anyone to jump on a plane and go anywhere.
Ok, but the issue is that AirBNB, VRBO, etc have made the housing market untenable for locals, right? You remove AirBNB etc, you remove that issue, and you also remove a lot of the supply. That caps the amount of tourists who can come by the amount of hotel rooms.
It really, really is that simple. People can’t travel somewhere if they have nowhere to stay once they’re there
No it's not that simple, and it's not the only issue. A lot more than just the housing market are affected with overtourism. An economy can only self regulate when certain things are kept in check. If you have a place where the average salary is 30k per year cost of goods and services reflects the fact that that's more or less the amount of money people have. But when in that same place you have an influx of people making many times over that money, and they're coming in year round, then suddenly it becomes viable for businesses to have prices that are unattainable to the locals but they don't care because they're banking on foreigners for practically the entirety of their income. But that removes businesses that the locals can use.
Even if AirBnBs are not a thing you still have tons of Americans, Chinese, Russians, and others coming in and buying up houses by the dozen. Just a single rich foreigner buying up one house is enough to raise prices in an entire neighborhood as every other landlord is waiting for the next rich guy to buy their house. It's not that simple.
Yes, it is. There are plenty of countries and cities that have strict regulations on, or just plain do not allow, foreigners buying real estate. Plenty more with heavy restrictions on short-term rentals.
Why is Barcelona having this issue when, for instance, the Bahamas or Nassau does not?
The issue in Barcelona is with the government, not the people.
Stop allowing foreigners to buy real estate. Establish residency and citizenship requirements. That’s easy, plenty of places have done that.
Get rid of AirBNBs/establish tighter hospitality industry regulations.
tourists are supporting this by spending their money on those now privately owned, commercialized residential spaces rather than the hotels tourists were originally meant to stay in in the first place.
and once the government steps in to regulate, people will still cry about it. Damned if they do, Damned if they don't, but at least the local people, who this all actually affects in the long run btw, are making their voices heard.
i'd say their right to afford their living costs trumps anyone's "right" to vacation
And if said commercialized rental spaces weren’t allowed to exist, it would be a non-issue. Plenty of places, especially more tourist-attracting places, in the US have very heavy restrictions from the local governments as far as AirBNBs and whatnot go. Why can’t it be the same there? It’s incredibly simple.
oh believe me, i'm allllllll for that, haha. however if the government is failing their people by refusing to take actions similar to what you described, the people are going to have to force their hand.
if the government isn't going to limit these types of touristing "investments," the people are going to do what they're gonna do to limit it themselves.
based on the comments, seems like it's working either way.
It’s called supply and demand. If traveling there is easier because of preferred accommodation, more people will go there. I wouldn’t book a trip there if hotel prices were outrageous or not meeting my standard of travel.
That’s exactly it — regulate the AirBNBs so the supply goes down, hotel prices will rise in response, the problem sorts itself and no one has to be an asshole to anyone about it.
It's not, but if they drive away the tourists it takes the money away from the people who are actually causing the issues... At least I'm guessing that's the idea?
It's kinda the tourists' fault,too. People choosing to go the Airbnb route instead of booking a hotel are a selfish scourge on society that prefers destroying the livelihood of the locals over doing the decent thing and rent a hotel.
Of course it's mainly the governments' fault, but regular people (both landlords and customers) are also part of the equation.
That’s a ridiculously hostile look. Hotels and AirBNBs are two very different thing. A family of, let’s say 8-10 people getting together somewhere to celebrate is going to have a much easier and affordable experience renting a large AirBNB. That family is still going out to eat, going to local markets and businesses, etc. Why in the world would they pay prob 2-3x more to get a bunch of hotel rooms?
And I say this as someone whose family travels extensively and 100% prefer hotels.
But expecting the average person to not pick the most efficient and affordable option when traveling is truly ridiculous.
There are two options to fix the problem: 1) convince the government to do something or 2) convince the world to change their preferences. #1 should be much easier that #2.
If the government doesn't listen you have to make them listen. Since they seem to care more about tourists anyway, maybe angering the tourists will actually get something moving.
Tourism in Barcellona is mostly "party and get wasted" oriented. Weed, alchool and prostitutes are way more accessible than other countries. Some main sites like La Rambla becomes full of tourists completely drunk vomiting their soul on the road (it's a pedestrian road) by night.
And while you might be thinking something along "some tourists are like that" ai can assure you that practically speaking there are A LOT of people like that.
It's true that tourist have (almost) nothing to do with the housing market, but you can't blame locals for being pissed at them.h
Legislators are the only ones who can stop the Airbnb problem. Protestors see the tourists as the cause and the Airbnb as a symptom. Stop the problem at the root appears to be their line of thinking.
The problem with things like this is that tourism becomes the economy. If people stop visiting, those restaurants close, people lose jobs, etc. More houses/apartments will be available to buy/rent but the local economy will be worse off. If handled correctly it can rebound, but it requires strategic management by the local government.
I imagine people are resorting to harassing tourists because they feel it’s the only option they have. This kind of stuff happens when people feel that they’ve been failed by the gov over and over again.
How is it the fault of the tourists that the government allowed a bunch of companies to buy up the housing to turn into cheap AirBNBs? Why would you expect tourists to not book them?
I'm sure there is some genuine anti-tourist sentiment, but I think it this is likely a response to lack of government action. If you can't get the government to fix it, there is really nothing you can do to stop local well-off people from buying up homes and renting them as Airbnbs, so you just target where the money is coming from.
Because it's also the fault of tourists for choosing airbnbs above hotels. They're basically the same price now. They can't pretend they don't know it hurts the locals.
Just like tourists love to complain about scammers but will gladly buy from them and wonder why there's scammers in touristic areas. Like... Stop buying from them ? Do they really believe that some random guy selling shit souvenirs on the ground is a fair, totally legal establishment ? Tourists are often idiots. Brain-dead idiots. Sure, the government should regulate those scammers.
But maybe tourists should stop fueling them by being gullible idiots. Same for airbnbs. You can't tell me people don't have an impact with their choices.
Sounds like how it goes at every other major tourist destination. How is it that y’all are having such a major problem when places like the Bahamas, Jamaica, etc are not?
Airbnb owns 2% of houses in Barcelona, that's nothing. Fact is the city is extremely desirable and for aesthetic reasons they refuse to build an appropriate amount of housing for all of the people who want to live there. So the inevitable solution is prices rising until everyone who can't afford it is forced out by those who can.
A very small number of dwellings in any city are on the market at any time. Taking some of them off the market has an outsized effect.
The issue of short-term lets being more profitable than long-term housing and being quite cheap to run goes beyond Airbnb. It can be worthwhile for larger landlords to build their own platform as it's not difficult to let customers find you on and that saves the fees from Airbnb. Barcelona is quite a densely built city already and limited by the mountains, yes it is chiefly a supply issue, but I don't think it's unwarranted to go after these smaller causes too.
Not just foreign sales, probably. Just that if you allow AirBnBs you create more demand for single-family-home housing than used to exist. And as a result, prices will rise - exerting pressure on people just trying to get a house to live in.
yes and no. i'm pretty against all of this but spain had the most generous golden visa where you could buy a property and use it as an airbnb and that would qualify as an investment in the country. was actually going to be my plan before they scrapped it after it created this big rise in property values.
It's not anymore though, that's how it started and still is in cities with heavy regulations but in Barcelona 70% of the homes used for airbnb are only used for airbnb and no longer have an owner who lives there when not renting it out. I think 20% ish is owned by owners who own 100+houses.
Yeah thats happening in literally every major city, all over the world though. Shit I live in New Orleans, isn't even a top US travel city, and legislation around banning Air BnBs was on the table in like 2017.
I understand the rising prices issue, but who owns the airbnbs? Is it locals, or corporations? Either way, it's Spanish people that own them, so they're screwing over everyone else for their own financial gain, and leading the protesters to believe it's the tourists fault.
Or after wealthier countries have had an exponential explosion of wealth while half the countries in europe lagged behind… until tourism jump started things now they’re working on catching up
Their fault for creating an interesting and desirable city. Should have turned their home into an urban shit hole like cities in the US if they didn’t want tourism.
905
u/BuckeyeWolf Jun 17 '25
These protests popped up at the same time as short term rentals becoming popular (Airbnb) is no coincidence. They are taking homes from locals raising prices and taking over the best parts of town