Locals in Spain, tired of booming tourism, say ‘stay away’
BARCELONA—Tourists to popular European destinations have encountered signs that locals wish they’d go elsewhere. Nearly 3,000 protesters marched through La Rambla, this city’s tourism epicenter, last week. They sprayed people with water from colorful squirt guns.
Videos of the event went viral on social media. In the wake of such visible protests, travel agents and hospitality companies say there haven’t been mass cancellations so far. But travelers headed to Europe say they are now thinking harder about where to go.
And visitors who were in Barcelona and other cities say that the protests and increased anti-tourist graffiti are hard to ignore. “We love Barcelona, but if they’re looking to limit tourism, it’s definitely a consideration for us going forward," says Val Gui, a 36-year-old executive from Boston who was in the city last week with his family. Gui, who has an eight-month-old daughter, says he empathizes with locals.
He lived in San Francisco as that city grew more expensive. While in Barcelona, he says he received friendly service from restaurant staffers and business owners who appreciated his family’s attempts to speak Spanish. He also felt somewhat unwelcome due to the amount of graffiti critical of travelers like him.
High-spending Americans are driving economies across Southern Europe as vacationers take advantage of a strong dollar. In the first five months of this year, 33 million international travelers visited Spain, for example, a 13.6% increase from last year, according to Spanish statistics agency INE. But some popular locations are struggling with the crush of visitors.
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