Besalu

Every year, when the tourist season starts, there are news like this because it is true that many areas of Spain are stressed in the accommodation. The problem is not the tourists. The problem is the lack of decent and affordable housing for the people of the country. For this reason it is important, for example, not to stay in Airbnb that in Spain are poorly regulated. And if possible, choose hotels (small, large, urban, rural, family-run, whatever) that do not take places away from the normal housing market, that pay taxes and that also provide jobs for more people.

Maribel

Well said, Besalu.

Christina

The problem is the tourists, to some extent. This is true in various European cities, where you have seen backlash against overtourism in the last ten years or so (except for COVID years). The main issue is overinflux of passengers from cruise ships (see Venice, but it also is a problem in Barcelona and Malaga), AND vacation rental apts like Airbnb, etc. So it's not just recently, but has been increasing for years, there have been articles on this going back to maybe 2014-16 when you started seeing a lot of problems? Of course it affects the most popular areas, which are Malaga and Barcelona and the Canaries (and Mallorca). So yes, the problem is tourists when rental owners take their apts off the market to rent to tourists AND when the streets are so crowded it is not pleasant to live in your own city any more. It is the tourists and businesses who do that. But some places are so crowded, it's an issue aside from the housing issue (which riles up people themost, I guess, it isn't just availability but cost, some workers can't afford to live there any more). They have rules at Parc Guell due to overcrowding and that has nothing to do with housing. I think the city got a bus line to Parc Guell erased from Google maps, also, so it wouldn't just be full of tourists and locals could use it easily.

Ideally, city govts would restrict passengers on cruise ships and rental apts for tourists should have some restrictions. I think the leftie mayor of Barcelona has started some of that, apt restrictions. And of course Parc Guell has restrictions and fees now, for one example (I remember many years ago when you just went there when you wanted). Of course there are problems in other cities, like AMsterdam, Paris, Venice, etc.

If you want some articles because you are skeptical this is a problem, here are a few, but as I said, this isn't something that has just happened in the alst 6 months. I like the one sign I read (In Barcelona) saying "why do they call it tourist season if you can't shoot them".

https://www.politico.eu/article/ada-...r-on-tourists/

https://english.elpais.com/elpais/20...46_101095.html

https://english.elpais.com/elpais/20...82_468230.html

https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-a7882481.html

https://www.thelocal.es/20190124/too...id-travel-fair

https://www.thelocal.es/20190823/opi...-and-mcdonalds

https://theworld.org/stories/2023/08...aking-tourists

https://www.france24.com/en/live-new...klash-in-spain

https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-n...sts-last-year/

https://www.timeout.com/news/a-barce...tourism-041824

I really like Barcelona and have been there several times, but glad I visited before it's gotten so crowded, frankly.

just_tina

This article explains the protests in the Canaries:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...inable-tourism

ekscrunchy

I'll be in the Canarias next month!

But on Lanzarote.

Maribel

Just follow the news here
https://www.canarianweekly.com

and here
https://www.theolivepress.es/spain-n...anary-islands/

joannyc

Just saw this article…

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/...canary-islands

just_tina

Protests are continuing
https://www.theguardian.com/world/ar...-housing-spain

​​​There's no easy answer but maybe it's worth looking at more 'off the beaten track " destinations for at least part of every holiday.

zebec

How do you say in Spanish, "Please don't point those fireworks at us. We're just a pair of bumbling old Canucks. If you spare us, then I promise to give you a shout-out in our TR about this Merce festival, m'kay?"
I am done. The Correfocs crew

ekscrunchy

Bumbling Spanish that I will be reprimanded for::

Oyeme chicos!!! Dejenos en paz con estes juguetes de fuego!! Si me cumples te lo prometo que voy a ponerlos en una film en Hollywood con todos sus nombres en luces y arriba del titulo!!!!

(“above the title” is the key phrase here.)

Just watch as they chuck those boxes of junk in the trash asap!!!

i am done here and await my lashing from Maribel!!

danon

One has to throw in a few words I cannot post here ( learned by watching Mexican drug/ crime films. 🤬 )

Happy Canada Day. 🇨🇦

zebec

And then today in Barcelona, some viscious water-pistol bandidas!
I could argue it both ways.
*see the interesting Reddit and RS forum discussions about the above incident on Las Ramblas.
https://community.ricksteves.com/tra...urists-go-home
I am done. The hypocrites

zebec

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic...Catalonia.html

bvlenci

There's been plenty of news coverage in Italy about the tourism protests in Barcelona.

Here's a video from RAI news (Italy's public television).

https://www.rainews.it/video/2024/07/tornate-a-casa-i-manifestanti-spruzzano-acqua-sui-turisti-a-barcellona-24dc987b-1af1-4298-b7fa-7cc0ece2da2c.html
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P_M

I was in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago and the people were all great. Nobody ever made us feel unwanted. At the end of this trip we were in Rome, in the scorching heat. I would have welcomed being shot with a water pistol, but no such luck.

bvlenci

We were in Rome at the end of May. There were a few restaurants near Termini station that were spraying a fine mist on their clients seated outdoors. Two were across the street from each other and their touts were competing to lure customers. It was an unequal competition, because one was downwind of the other.
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