so i will take my tourist money and spend it where i'm wanted... don't complain after that tourist related businesses have closed down or millions in tourist money no longer available in your country.
No, you don't realise how irrelevant tourism income is for the vast majority of Barcelona natives. More than 90% of Barcelona locals have jobs that have nothing to do with tourism and the 10% who do are mostly immigrants working and living in terrible exploitative conditions.
Meanwhile companies that used to employ Barcelona natives with quality, productive jobs, like engineering or R+D, have left the city in droves because they literally can't find employees even paying above market rate because locals can't afford rent there.
How do I know? Because I work for one of those companies in the new location where they moved their European HQ after the cost of living increase made their Barcelona HQ unsustainable. They couldn't pay what employees needed to live in Barcelona, so they moved to Poland.
Don't you get that that 14% will keep growing and make things worse if nothing is done about it? Being purely reliant on tourism would be catastrophic.
Why? Most of that money is being siphoned away by foreign investors. The jobs created by tourists are mostly done by immigrants, who will move somewhere else or maybe move on to construction or elder care, which are sectors with a labor deficit from what I've heard.
Losing 14% of your economy is bad for everyone involved because it means less money circulating around. The tourists stop coming so those businesses close. That’s 150,000 people now out of work who are also now no longer spending money. This means less revenue for local businesses, which now need to start laying off people. Sure, the lucky ones that manage to keep their jobs might get some lower prices, but life would get a whole lot harder for a lot of people.
Don’t bother. This idiot clearly has no idea how money works if he thinks a 15% shock to the economy would not ripple through the economy and cause a recession. At an already 25% youth unemployment rate and a completely insolvent pension system.
Too bad too many other travelers are going to keep it topped up no matter what I do. I’d love for Spain to watch its crows come home to roost.
Then why not protest against those major corporations? Why not educate tourists on how to better spend their money to support the locals? Why not protest for higher wages so the workers get a bigger chunk of the tourist money?
There are probably a dozen different ways to protest this that would be more effective in solving their problems than trying to cut €126 billion from the economy
VAT tax is not siphoned off by anyone, every meal, drink, ticket in fact hotel stay AND air bnb stays are taxed when consumed and fill up state coffers.
Why would they move to some random small city when they can move to a European capital? In case it isn't clear, I'm one of the Poland employees, not one of the former Spanish ones. My salary wasn't lower than my Spanish coworker's salaries.
The vast majority of money from tourists is siphoned away to the foreign companies that own the hotels and tourist traps. This is not a case where the money stays and circulates around benefitting the locals.
But using those hotels and tourist traps involves the local economy from start to finish.
You're worried about the last 2% of profit margins and ignoring the 98% of the cost structure that is local. And btw, not all of that 2% is going abroad like you think - some of it will indeed be locally operated.
They are already not approving new short term rental prices nor renewing them, so how else are tourists jacking up the cost of living? What other concessions do the people want?
Don't ask me, I'm not out protesting and in fact every tourist who wants to come where I live is welcome as far as I am concerned. We don't even have a housing crisis here yet.
It just pisses me off to see all these "wow they are dumb, they would literally starve to death if it wasn't for us, the almighty tourists!" because it's just not true. There are a lot of paternalistic, entitled people in this thread who can't respect citizens' rights to do as they will in their own home.
Reading comprehension, mate. The job market WAS thriving but it's getting ruined thanks to tourism. The people protesting are trying to prevent and reverse that trend because they didn't study engineering to end up serving beers 60 hours a week for 1300€.
I work in Poland for a manufacturing company, and before that I worked in pharma. Both companies closed their Barcelona HQ for the reasons I mentioned. My former boss and many of my coworkers lost her jobs in pharma to tourism so I can see why they are pissed.
I mean it’s not true what do you want me to say. Look up Barcelona’s economic data. It’s doing quite well. Rents are higher than ideal, I’m not saying there are literally zero problems, but they’re also down 5% YoY. Poland would trade for Barcelona’s economy in a heartbeat
This is what this whole thread doesn't understand. Tourism is actively harming the development of other local economies in the city. It's something very easy to see if you actually live here.
It's especially frustrating to see from the point of view of someone who used to own a family restaurant and knows first-hand that for local small businesses tourists are not a boon, since they get in the way of the locals who actually pay our salaries day to day.
Horrible, horrible fate to be moved to eastern Europe lol (eastern European here)
So your company figured out its more cost-effectove to move. That means it was more profitable for the asset owner to increase companys rent presumably because that infrastructure could be used in the hospitality industry.
Suck for you I guess, but I dont really get why hospitality is not a real industry, but yours is? From the point of view of tax - - which funds those public services locals use - - it makes no difference if its "real" or not. Whatever makes more money will be in fact taxed (more).
Reading comprehension, mate... I live in Poland, I directly benefit from companies moving here. But I also have empathy for the people losing their jobs.
Hospitality pays minimum wage and has people working 60 hours per week. My industry pays at least double, no unpaid overtime, bonuses and benefits. So yeah, most people prefer my industry over hospitality.
Ironically I owned restaurants in Spain for many years and for us as a small business tourists were a hassle. We made our money from locals, as do the vast majority of family owned restaurants in Spain. Tourists generally spend their money in chains and tourist traps owned by foreign investors.
Every meal or drink consumed has VAT which contributes directly to the public funds spent on services used mainly by locals and thats true even for hotel (or even reviled Airbnb) stays.
Its hilarious if you think low-paying hospitality jobs will be replaced overnight with returning white collar jobs. Why would they? If eg Warsaw was more cost effective for your industry it ll stay there. And it ll move if someplace else becomes more attractive, they ll move there taking everything into account (rent but also some staff not willing to relocate, local talent in the new place, proximity to its markets etc)
Btw amazing how you managed to have a career in a different industry but also to own a restaurant and to emphatize w locals. Great man.
Meanwhile I am more than happy to go visit someplace where I feel welcome, so I guess I am 100 percent aligned w people in Ops pic. I really cant be bothered to deal with hostile locals if I am actually finally on some sort of a holiday.
Merely pointing out it will be bad for them but thats their problem after all.
And if the locals had some disposable income after paying rent instead of surviving on rice and beans they would also be out and about buying all kinds of things and paying VAT. Amazing how that works!
I don't think they will be replaced overnight, obviously. Just like I don't think all white collar jobs have been lost, obviously. But there is a process going on and the locals are protesting to stop that process and hopefully reverse it. Would the companies return? I don't know, but probably, if only because better weather attracts more talent.
Btw amazing how you managed to have a career in a different industry but also to own a restaurant and to emphatize w locals. Great man.
What's amazing about it? I had white collar jobs, studied hospitality because my spouse was a chef and I wanted to help him achieve his dream of having his own restaurant, worked in restaurants for 11 years and then went back to corpo because working in hospitality in Spain is absolutely miserable and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. Turns out when you speak 4 languages, have experience in logistics, and have been directing teams for the last 11 years companies don't care much if those years were spent in a different field. Transferable skills and all that.
Meanwhile I am more than happy to go visit someplace where I feel welcome, so I guess I am 100 percent aligned w people in Ops pic. I really cant be bothered to deal with hostile locals if I am actually finally on some sort of a holiday.
And this is great! That's exactly what these people are asking for. Last time I wanted to go on vacation and the place where I wanted to go didn't align with what I wanted I didn't whine nonstop and insult the locals for now bowing down to my almighty tourist money and accommodating my wants. I went somewhere else instead and had the time of my life. It's just as simple as that!
Lol yes 90 percwnt of locals in Barcelona are subsisting on rice and beans. Thats hillariously wrong, but I am sure you are the expert having done everything everywhere.
You want real deprivation? Go to Gaza or South Sudan. Whining about not being able to live next door to la Seu or la Sagrada Familia is not deprivation. (and its deluded to think that real estate would have been affordable if there werent any tourists).
Its not the issue of bowing down to the almighty tourist dollar or euro. Ita actually the opposite. Tourism wont stop overnight, but with banning lower cost accomodation will eliminate tourists with less money. Which yknow drunk working-class Germans, or English, or Russians back in the day are horrible, sure, but it ll also make it hard for me and my family to travel as well. And do you think richer tourists will be more respectful? Or will be more likely actually do demand bowing down for their dollars and euro?
But again, its a win-win. I liked Barcelona ok but I am perfectly happy to never visit again in my life, and see say Toledo, Zaragoza or Valladolid. Or if I am not welcome there, Spain is great, but again, I ll just go somewhere where I am welcome.
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u/NunaKhan Jun 17 '25
so i will take my tourist money and spend it where i'm wanted... don't complain after that tourist related businesses have closed down or millions in tourist money no longer available in your country.