Barcelona locals have now begun feeling resentment over the consequences of “mass tourism” currently being experienced by the European city.
Suffice it to say that the welcome for tourists has not been as warm as the 90-degree weather.
Last month, it was documented that locals have taken to shooting squirt guns at tourists sitting down and enjoying a meal and painted graffiti throughout the city telling tourists to go back home. The locals argue that the tourists often come and disrespect the neighborhoods, refuse to clean up after themselves, and then go home the next day.
Now, with the America’s Cup set to be held in Barcelona this year, the mass tourism problem is now apparently coming to a head.
The America’s Cup, which is a sailing competition amongst clubs to see who has the fastest boat crew in the world, is a popular event that is held every four years. According to the head of Barcelona Tourism Mateau Hernandez, “The people who follow the America’s Cup are people who love the sea and have plenty of disposable income,” he said.
“We are interested in these people. We need to improve the quality of those who visit. But people confuse quality with wealth. What we want is people who come here to do something, whether it’s to visit museums or enjoy the architecture and the gastronomy.”
European tourism has exploded since 2020, and at the forefront of this overtourism is Barcelona. Locals have begun feeling frustrated at the unchecked crowds and behaviors that come with it.
Now, the tourism heads of the city are preferring quality, not quantity of tourism. Even still, the event of the America’s Cup is drawing harsh criticism, as many of the jobs that were promised to be created by it were free volunteer work for locals, while the people benefitting the most were foreigners.
