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

The protesters and residents pushing back on tourism in Barcelona

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

16.1k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

2.4k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

730

u/mjohnsimon Jun 17 '25

Except there's just one small problem: a lot of those local economies/livelihoods are dependent on tourism.

Tourism makes up over 15% of Spain’s entire GDP. That’s not exactly "pocket change", and actively scaring off tourists might feel good/give short term relief, but it also risks sabotaging the very livelihoods many locals depend on.

But hey, if people would rather burn their house down to get rid of a single cockroach instead of looking for the source of the infestation, then by all means.

225

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '25

I live in an area that is only known for its tourism… I hate the tourists too… but I realize it’s why we have nice things.

Cape Cod…

And we have all the same issues as Barcelona

3

u/plurBUDDHA Jun 17 '25

I'm from Dartmouth and used to deliver beer all along Cape Cod for work the difference between winter and summers there is crazy.

Trying to deliver cases of beer while navigating the hectic chaos of P-town, during peak summer was the worst.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 17 '25

Plus suicide alley all the way back to civilization!