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Spain: Barcelona no longer wants mass tourism
Spain: Barcelona no longer wants mass tourism
(France 2)
Thousands of Spaniards demonstrated on Saturday, July 6, in Barcelona to protest against overtourism that makes their daily lives unbearable and makes rent prices inaccessible. Last year, 12 million people chose the Catalan capital as their destination.
Hotels and restaurants besieged by a group of angry protesters, tourists sitting at a terrace surrounded by the same protesters with a slogan: “Go home !”… There were several thousand people taking to the streets on Saturday July 6 in Barcelona (Spain) to demand a rapid reduction in the number of tourists in the city.
Barcelona welcomed 12 million tourists last year, the most popular destination in Spain, the second most visited country in the world after France. As a result, rents have skyrocketed, +68% in ten years. The city hall has announced a ban on apartment rentals, but only until 2029. Apparently, some Barcelonans want it to go faster. The anger also affects other regions of the country, such as Malaga, in the south of the country, or in the Balearic Islands. Tourism in Spain represents nearly 13% of jobs in the country.
