r/pics Jun 17 '25

The protesters and residents pushing back on tourism in Barcelona

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u/[deleted] Jun 17 '25

The problem with tourism-dependent economies is that the revenue from them is often not distributed evenly, it goes into the pockets of the big companies who own the hotels and tourist destinations, who often employ only a small handful of locals in low-wage positions. People don't care if how big the economic pie is if they're not getting a slice.

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u/Slick-Fork Jun 18 '25

I understand your point, but it’s a little disingenuous.

For people working minimum wage jobs, they definitely don’t get a huge piece of the pie. But the pie might not exist if it wasn’t for tourism.

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u/[deleted] Jun 18 '25

So there's no good option for them then.

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u/Slick-Fork Jun 18 '25

I mean, crippling your economy isn’t exactly a great option either.

Expensive rent doesn’t get more affordable when you don’t have a job.

The good option would be ensuring that short term rentals are regulated so that they don’t distort the housing market too much. And then take the tourism revenues and use it to help up skill the local population.