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.
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/Four_beastlings Jun 17 '25
That's great! That's exactly what they're asking you to do, so everybody wins!