His visits generated 14% of local GDP, but the 27 million tourists in Barcelona are a headache for the new mayor, Ada Colau, which wants to prevent this Mediterranean port becomes a theme park.
“Tourists go home (tourists go home)” it is a common slogan on the facades of the most central areas of Barcelona where they usually concentrate this hefty influx of tourists to absorb difficult for a city of 1.6 million inhabitants before the 1992 Olympics just received visitors. It is now the third most visited city in Europe, only behind London and Paris, according to a study in 2013 by Mastercard
The arrival of summer and the heat bring out. Jams tourist groups in the alleys of the medieval quarter, long queues to visit the buildings of the modernist architect Antoni Gaudi and crowded beaches where there’s hardly an inch of free sand.
“Barcelona is at a crossroads. If nothing is done, in 30 or 40 years could become Venice, a completely specialized in tourism city, “says the geographer from the Autonomous University of Barcelona Francesc Muñoz
Turismofobia. This tourist hyper is already a fact in some areas of the city as the tree-lined Ramblas. Former meeting of Barcelona, the Ramblas is now a constant coming and going of tourists cornered souvenir stores, fashion chains and fast food restaurants.
“We are losing the essence. Where once there were flowers, there are now only souvenirs “laments Pallés Carolina, the oldest florist from Las Ramblas, founded by her great-grandmother in 1888. In front of the stop, a banner hanging from a balcony:” Barceloneses, return to the Rambla “.
” The traditional customers have stopped coming because they have no room to walk or move the shopping cart “, Xavier Alonso, a fishmonger from the nearby Boqueria market complains whose turnover fell 50% in five years.
Last summer there were even demonstrations against Barceloneta tourism thrives in this seaside town with the main beach of the city. “The tourist boom has been a very quick process, 25, and the city not well absorbed. This has led this turismofobia “explains tourism expert Francesc López Palomeque, adding that the council’s response to this phenomenon was insufficient.
An icon in danger. Now Ada Colau, created an anti activist supported by the movement of the “indignant”, sets out to develop a plan to support the daily life of its inhabitants with this valuable activity that generates 120,000 jobs. His first move, announced on Thursday, was to freeze the licensing of tourist accommodation for one year. Among the thirty projects affected is a five star hotel by the US chain Hyatt which was inaugurated in 2017 at the Agbar tower, a symbol of Barcelona’s skyline. The fund Emin Capital had already invested 150 million euros for this hotel that should generate about 1,000 jobs.
“Barcelona is a world model in terms of tourism. All investors want to come here but if we create legal uncertainty, change of place, “says the president of the fund, Jordi Badia. The city currently has 600 hotels with 74,000 rooms and around 9,600 registered tourist apartments.
However, it is suspected that the number of illegal tourist apartments that are promoted through platforms like Airbnb is much higher. According to a survey of employers of Spanish hoteliers Exceltur in Barcelona the positions offered through these platforms exceed 137,000. Many see these accommodations the main cause of the tourist saturation. “There is a campaign to give us a bad image because we take away market,” argues Enrique Alcantara, president of the management of apartments Apartur ensuring that the owners of these apartments help disperse visitors to the city and redistribute the benefits of tourism.
The negotiations on a pact to make sustainable tourism and decongest the most saturated areas of the city long anticipated, but there is consensus on the need to achieve it. “Today Barcelona is a world tourism icon. But if the problems can persist this mess and ultimately affect the tourism in the city, “says López Palomeque.
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