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Barcelona tourists get last laugh after livid locals spray 'go home' messages in city

Barcelona residents aren't having much luck when it comes to deterring tourists from visiting in fact, some have been directly poking fun at the anti-tourism graffiti in the city

[barcelona]

Tourists haven't been fazed by the graffiti in Barcelona(Image: Jam Press Vid)

Locals in several Spanish holiday hotspots are fuming about "over-tourism".

Residents believe there are too many people visiting so they've taken matters into their own hands. In Barcelona, protests have been launched against tourists.

Visitors of the popular city have been shouted at in the street, drenched by water pistols and shamed by graffiti that's been sprayed onto the streets of Las Ramblas.

They don't seem to be too bothered though with many getting revenge on locals by poking fun at their anger. In a video posted by Parrot Tours on TikTok, a tourist in the Spanish city admitted: "I get the message but it's still funny you know. I will still come."

What's more, a German tourist sparked fury by posing by the graffiti and posting footage on social media. She sarcastically jibed: "Thanks Barcelona for very warm welcoming."

In response to the viral clip, a Barcelona resident chimed in to insist "it's not funny". They explained that "because of disrespectful tourism we locals can no longer stay in our cities".

Echoing the sentiment, someone else pointed out: "Not something to laugh at to be fair. Touristy places are pretty much unliveable for locals." We fear their pleas may be falling on deaf ears, though!

What measures are Barcelona officials putting in place to deter tourists?

Last year, Barcelona's then-mayor described tourism as a "great challenge" for the city, suggesting measures to limit the influx of holidaymakers. Ada Colau, during her tenure, restricted the number of hotel beds in the city, emphasising the need for residential spaces amidst the bustling city centre.

Her successor, Jaume Collboni, implemented a ban on cruise ships docking at Muelle Barcelona Norte and the World Trade Centre docks, located a mile from the Gothic quarter, in October. Cruise ships are now required to dock at the Moll d'Adossat pier, a 30-minute bus ride from the historic centre.

In an interesting move, one neighbourhood managed to get a local bus route removed from Google and Apple Maps to deter tourists, as it was often overcrowded, leaving no room for residents.

Barcelona is increasing its tourist tax by 4 in October and also plans to clamp down on short-term holiday rentals. Officials hope this will prevent residents from getting priced out of the city.

Even though there have been lots of protests and measures put in place to restrict tourists, Barcelona remains as popular with holidaymakers as ever. If not more!

Tourist numbers have been surging in recent months and Barcelona's El Prat Airport has recorded a 7.2% increase in holidaymakers recently.

That's more than in the same month of 2023 and between January and July, the number of passengers exceeded 176 million, 10.6% up on the same period of 2023.

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