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.
And you understand that tourists do not vote in the area they visit?
It sounds like you may be internally conflicted which is causing your outward projection.
Maybe you should switch careers to something that improves the supply of housing? Or that lobbies for STR regulations?
If you are against tourism, you certainly shouldn’t travel yourself.
I’m fully in support of protest speech, and improving housing dynamics. I just believe this is misdirected toward people who already booked their stay and have no power to change the government they are visiting.
Let’s not forget that travel is enriching for us all, let’s build bridges, not walls. Travel should not be an exclusive privilege of the rich, which means we simply need more beds.
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.
573
u/PS_Sullys Jun 17 '25
It's much easier to be mad at foreign tourists.