It is a discontent that is growing. More and more. But one to which it is genuinely difficult to provide concrete answers. Overtourism is an unstoppable mass tourism phenomenon that, while on the one hand generates wealth and prosperity, on the other exasperates residents who see their lives changing for the worse. On Saturday 6 July, around 3,000 people took to the streets of Barcelona to once again voice their opposition to this invasive and uncontrolled form of tourism. Why are they protesting, and what are they demanding?

Residents take to the streets to defend the right not to be overrun by tourists

The figures are sharply contested: according to the organisers, turnout was 20,000; according to the authorities, just 2,800. But perhaps the numbers are not what matters most. In any case, more than 140 civic organisations took part in the demonstration, alongside environmentalists, housing rights movements and trade unions calling for a change of course on tourism policy. What emerges clearly is a concern that is growing and widespread across the entire country. In Spain, this is not the first time that residents of tourist-destination cities have taken to the streets to defend their rights as citizens. At the end of April, it was the inhabitants of the Canary Islands — 50,000 of them — who mobilised to say no to the more than 14 million tourists who had invaded their home in a single year. More recently, voices were also raised in Málaga and Cádiz to reiterate how the negative effects of tourism are becoming ever more evident.

Today, Barcelona's residents are in effect denouncing their expulsion from the city, driven primarily by rising housing costs and the depersonalisation of neighbourhoods caused by overtourism. Saturday's demonstration may not have been among the largest, but it succeeded in making noise. As reported by journalists at La Vanguardia, the most widely read newspaper in Barcelona — also published in Catalan — there were moments of tension when residents turned on tourists using water pistols. It appears that many tourists had not even realised the demonstration was directed at them. And this is probably what creates conflict more than anything else: the dichotomy between the pleasure of those who travel to a foreign country for enjoyment and leisure, and their complete unawareness that their own comfort generates disruption and real, everyday problems for those who live in places that for many are merely tourist destinations and not "home".

Overtourism in Barcelona

When one looks at the figures behind the phenomenon, it is not hard to understand that the situation is getting out of hand: in 2019, 17.3 million visitors stayed overnight in Barcelona, and a further 10.5 million just outside the city spent the day in the streets of the Catalan capital. And the current year is shaping up to be one of records, with figures still rising. What is to be done? The city administration is attempting to introduce measures to curb the onslaught, but they appear too weak: for example, raising the tourist tax to €7.50 per person and capping the number of apartments available for tourist use.

At the same time, Mayor Jaume Collboni and his administration cannot ignore the fact that the tourism sector contributes 14 per cent of the city's GDP and supports more than 150,000 jobs. How can they give that up?

Since the pandemic, tourism has changed. Spain is certainly one of the countries in Europe suffering most from the new way people conceive of travel. But it is not the only one. Italy too has similar examples of cities being depersonalised and emptied of their residents in favour of tourists — take Venice. There is an urgent need for serious dialogue, extended to the European countries affected and involved, in order to find shared solutions.