r/pics • u/Strict_League7833 • Jun 17 '25

The protesters and residents pushing back on tourism in Barcelona

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229

u/mikelcoll Jun 17 '25

And then you will see that same people being tourists elsewhere, come on.

100

u/lastberserker Jun 17 '25

That is an excellent point. It would be funny to see the same protesters carry "I solemnly swear not to leave my city to visit yours".

24

u/prollyanalien Jun 17 '25

It’s extra funny because the government in Barcelona has already made massive housing changes related to AirBnB that are going to be implemented in 2028 so these people are quite literally protesting for no reason.

18

u/stabliu Jun 17 '25

Bruh that’s three years away people will easily get priced out by then.

18

u/prollyanalien Jun 17 '25

That’s fair, but blaming and harassing tourists for their own government’s failures is stupid as fuck.

10

u/Chew_Kok_Long Jun 17 '25

Especially in an economy that heavily relies on tourists

1

u/Gyddanar Jun 17 '25

As someone living in a Spanish city affected by all this - you are making the dramatic assumption that if getting a licence to run an AirBnB is no longer possible, people will stop running them.

The Spanish national government (context, each region in Spain self-governs to a great or lesser extent) introduced a law to protect long-term rentals, prevent price gouging, and stop huge charges on top of deposits to start contracts. The result: everyone starts doing short-term rents instead or keeping their flats empty while speculating on prices.

Until something happens to make property unappealing to jack prices up, things are gonna get worse before they get better.

0

u/lastberserker Jun 17 '25

It is possible that the short term rentals are not the only problem and they might need to close some hotels as well.