Activists descended on the Parc Güell on Saturday, unveiling banners and squirting tourists with water pistols at the latest anti-tourism demo
MADRID – Protesters squirted holiday makers with water pistols at Parc Güell, one of Barcelona’s iconic tourist attractions, on Saturday in the latest demonstration against over tourism in Spain.
Singing a version of The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine” with lyrics altered to mock tourists, activists blocked the entrance to the popular park, which was constructed by Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí.
The protesters shouted “tourists go home” as they tried to douse tourists and held aloft a banner that read in English, “mass tourism kills the city”.
About 50 demonstrators staged the surprise demonstration to mark UN World Tourism Day on Saturday.
“Action in protest against the of World Tourism Day. We are blocking the most iconic gate of Park Güell,” said the Assembly of Neighbourhoods for Tourism Degrowth group on social media.
Another neighbours’ group near the Parc Güell also took part in the demonstration and called for less visitors to the popular tourist site.
“Today, on International Tourism Day, various entities and neighbours have called in front of the Parc Güell for tourist degrowth (less tourism) to save Barcelona from this industry and (tourist) model that means the expulsion of neigbours and precarious labour conditions,” it said in a post on social media.
Spain and other European countries are trying to juggle booming tourist industries, which are key to their economies with rising discontent among locals over the effects of mass tourism in popular holiday destinations.
After a wave of protests over tourism in Spain, activists say they will target tourists and tourism companies directly if authorities.
Protesters insist they are not against holidaymakers as tourism is an important part of the economy in Spain and other parts of southern Europe.
However, they claim that over tourism in cities like Barcelona has forced out residents as foreign purchases and the rising price of tourist flats push up property prices.
In June, thousands of people took to the streets of cities in southern Europe to demonstrate against overtourism, firing water pistols at shop windows and setting off smoke in Barcelona, where the main protest took place.
There were similar demonstrations in other parts of Spain including Ibiza, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca, San Sebastian and Granada. Protests in Italy took place in cities including Genoa, Naples, Palermo, Milan and Venice.
Against the backdrop of protests, international travel spending in Europe is expected to rise by 11 per cent to €716bn (£625bn) this year, with Spain and France among the countries set to receive record numbers of tourists.
In Spain, experts told The i Paper that unless a more sustainable model of tourism materialised, the protests would continue or get worse.
“If the model does not change, opposition will still be there and probably keep growing,” said Javier Pascuet, a consultant who specialises in sustainable tourism, innovations and smart destinations.
Tourism plays an important role in Spain’s overall economy, accounting for 12.3 per cent of GBP and 11.6 per cent of total employment in 2023, according to Spain’s National Statistics Institute.
Growth in the sector has also been an important factor in boosting employment to record levels, a key driver in real GDP growth in recent years.
Between 2021-2024, Spain’s economy expanded by an average of 4.7 per cent per year in real terms.
The Spanish government wants to introduce a 21 per cent VAT tax on short-term tourist rentals – double the tax paid on hotel rooms.
Spain wants to maintain a balance between its tourism industry and a growing housing crisis.
A Bank of Spain report this year found the country had a deficit of 450,000 homes.
