To resist mass tourism, thousands of demonstrators marched through central Barcelona (Spain), holding placards and chanting “tourists go home”.
The protesters sprayed water guns at unsuspecting tourists. The protest saw 2,800 people take to the streets, as the city grapples with the impacts of overwhelming visitor numbers.
Demonstrators in Barcelona carried signs reading, “Barcelona is not for sale.”
Demonstrators argue that the influx of tourists has driven up living costs and property prices, deepened social inequality, and restricted housing access.
In 2001, Freya Petersen introduced the term ‘overtourism’, lamenting the excessive tourism development and governance shortcomings in the city of Pompei.
Over two decades later, this issue has become alarmingly familiar in top tourism destinations worldwide.
