- Spaniards say they want less tourism: Protesters rally against tourism industry, spray tourists with water (usatoday.com)
- The marched through tourists areas spraying tourists with water guns and yelling “tourists go home”: Barcelona anti-tourism protesters fire water pistols at visitors (msn.com)
- Anti-tourism protesters target diners with water guns in Barcelona | World News | Sky News – the protesters look very angry as they shoot water guns at tourists eating dinner.
- Water pistol attacks on Barcelona tourists? I’m just surprised it hasn’t happened sooner. The author notes there are other nice cities to visit in Spain; obviously, someone who is widely traveled and experienced, which I am not.
- Barcelona residents squirt travelers with water to protest overtourism (cnbc.com) – also threw items at tourists and sprayed them with pressurized canned drinks.
- Local coverage – original Spanish translated to English with Google Translate: Fear of a resurgence of tourismphobia in Barcelona (web-archive-org.translate.goog)
- Video clip of protestors throwing objects and forcing tourists to stay in their hotel: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/hotel-guests-and-protesters-clash-in-barcelona-as-anger-over-mass-tourism-grows/vi-BB1pEK3u
Protesters forced hotel doors shut, confining tourists inside.
Similar protests have been done in other parts of Spain – protesters want to end tourism and the government is sympathetic to that demand. Protests and objections to tourism began in the years before Covid – but the protests have grown larger and now have attacks on tourists.
15% of Spain’s GDP relies on tourism. It is highly likely that the protesters, are themselves, elite travelers to other countries.
As someone who has not traveled, I do a lot of research and planning of future trips in hopes I can travel someday. I’ve been studying Spanish, and ironically, yesterday I was sketching out an off season 15-day trip to Barcelona (and only Barcelona, not elsewhere in Spain). But if we are not welcome – and in fact are targeted – this is not good. I have now crossed Barcelona off our future plans – perhaps I will consider elsewhere in Spain but that too is now in doubt. There are other communities that welcome our tourist dollars.