Mass tourism is becoming a huge problem in many places.
People from Barcelona have been complaining for years and even the old tourists like some people from my own french family who have been going to Barcelona every summer since the 70s have been complaining about how the city has become one huge holiday resort and have stopped going there. It's even worse in the Balearics. Many places around the Mediterranean Sea are overtouristic.
The overcrowded touristic places need regulations and other sustainable tourism policies, especially for big cruise ships, probably low cost air companies too, airbnbs, opening hours, alcohol sales, etc...
If 10 people shooting water-pistols in a peaceful protest march make the international medias notice, well, that's one hell of an efficient media plan.
Mass tourism is indeed becoming a huge problem.
However, that is just a sign of the general wealth growth of the humanity, and it's a given, and should be addressed within reasonable merits that don't border on the most appalling tribalism. Tourism as a societal practice is an amazing thing that contributes more than anything to education, cultural exchange and soft power. Not to mention that it's also a great source of employment, especially for the lower education groups, economic growth and generally greener industry (yes, planes oh, planes, but I would swap the chemical factories in my city for a million of tourists a year on a heart beat).
There obviously should be ways to manage tourism, as there are ways to manage everything else. What we see in Spain is not it.
Cruises are out of the financial reach of most people who would like to visit Barcelona.
I don't think there are cruises that are that cheap that poor people could ever afford them.
Nope. Visiting specifically Barcelona on a cruise is several times cheaper than going there by any other means of transportation and staying there. While a cruise is not necessarily cheap enough for "poor", it's definitely more affordable for "lower income" than any alternative.
Plus, cruise ships are mostly targeting older people who might not be able to travel on planes or move place to place with such an ease. I took a cruise once in my life, hated it to bits, but it's also true, my parents wouldn't have been able to visit these places otherwise at their age; nor would it be affordable for them, given the circumstances.
All that not to say I don't think cruise ships is one thing that absolutely should be the first step in curbing mass tourism: it a very large group of people who bring very little in the terms of income for the city and naturally flock to the same locations at the same times. For places like Barcelona where cruises are responsible for some 30% of the tourism, it should absolutely be target, and I wonder why they went for AirBnBs instead, despite AirBnBs naturally hosting people who stay for more than a light day, and absolutely spend more money for the local businesses. I am guessing it's worth checking the budget books of the municipality and check how much these companies pay them for the right to dock. And I'd also check how much these cruise companies pay to the specific politicians at the municipality level too...
IMO the topic is not so clear cut as some make it sound here.
Back in the days before AirBNB, if you needed low-budget stays, you'd choose a hostel or low standard hotel/guesthouse (which meanings putting a lot of people in one big building, not taking up much space). Now people who got used to use AirBNB frequently want to be able to spend their vacation living in an appartment as big as a flat, but for budget prices. I mean even in a pricy hotel room, tourists will not take up that much living space.
Ermmmm.... That is probably true, but I don't think it in any way justifies anything. First of all, first and foremost AirBnBs are useful for families that wouldn't be able to stay in conventional hotels as easily. I think that's how AirBnB started. It's a gap in the market that no one bothered to fill, until short term rentals became a thing.
And then, it's absolutely one's right to get more for less as a tourist, and more for less as an apartment owner. As long as economically that is the logical thing to do, people will do it; and moreso, I think limiting property rights is a very problematic route in general, and also a red herring for the existing problems (both housing and mass tourism).
I find it a bit funny that the people screaming the loudest about this are ones who are definitely not poor and very frequent travellers who seem to find their "right to leisure travel" very important as if that's the most important human right or something
Fair
But to be fair too, much like it was mentioned, people who are not poor and have been in the "before it was cool" wave, are now avoiding these over touristic spots, and probably are not the target of Barcelona protests. So basically we're coming back to the goode olde "we don't want to see people who are different from us in our city, on which (for some reason) we have exclusive rights". Not much different than xenophobia against migrants, if I may, with lesser justification in the terms of possible negative social and positive economical effects...
Also LMAO about the idea of these protests being left-wing. Traditionally in Germany those "illegal holiday appartment" problems have been very common in rich rural areas were people are politically very conservative (like Oberstdorf region), which is why there's tons of regulations and restrictions happening, which are all introducted by the right-wing communal politicians.
They absolutely are in Barcelona. This protest was organized by some "communists for Barcelona" or something like that. Palestinian flags are a dead giveaway too. I also believe the demands and the steps that are being taken (as in ban AirBnB) are very left-wing motivated, which makes sense given who the government of Barcelona/Spain are.
Doesn't mean it's true everywhere, of course. Excessive tourism is a problem everywhere, it's more the question how it is addressed.
Being able to travel for leisure is a privilege, not a right. Those of us who are privileged to be able to do so have to be respectful of the places we are visiting. Mass tourism is ruining some places for both those who live there and our experience as travellers. If locals and local businesses are being priced out of cities, where exactly are the workers to cater to all these tourists going to come from?
...I don't.... fully get the notion? Whether it's a privilege or a right, it doesn't matter. Living in a city center is also a privilege, and some would argue, it's a much bigger and exclusive privilege these days than catching a lowcost flight to see some sun for a week. And while I can see that local might be priced out of certain neighborhoods (which... tbh... I don't think is such a huge injustice), the local businesses absolutely shouldn't be. That is one thing that can absolutely be governed, and tourists are just the easy scapegoats.
And where the workers are going to come from is not my problem. Sorry, I lived under communism, I don't advise anyone to try. This is one instance where the market is absolutely going to make its work. If there are no workers, then prices will go up, tourists will be moved out; or accommodations will be organized; or services will suffer and it will move tourists out. Not anyone's right to stand there and say "you have the right to visit here, and you - don't".
As we saw from the Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions that is not the case.
Nearly a million euros to mitigate the impact of the crisis, with funds for 284 companies in this sector.
www.barcelona.cat
I
really don't think you're making a strong case here.
Covid didn't solve any housing problems, as short term rentals were closed; it didn't drive the prices down; but local businesses survived only thanks to large governmental subsidies, while, for that matter, international chains managed to stand on their own. So that is absolutely not a very strong argument in favor of driving tourists out from the cities.
When you are visiting someone’s home who is the onus more on to be respectful?
How about ...both? How about setting a set of rules and start targeting people based on their behavior rather than their race/ethnicity/passport?
The first two things are great. Curbing legal immigration contradicts what you said up above. Asylum seekers and undocumented immigrants are more unlikely to be homeless than residents so I don’t see how that is at all relevant.
Illegal, legal and any other kind of migrants live in houses, and so do city locals, citizens visiting and tourists. Out of these groups, while I don't have the data, I would
guess that tourists bring the largest revenue on average, while illegal migrants the smallest one. But all these groups compete for the absolutely same pool of houses. So if someone absolutely insists on not expanding the pool of housing, it only makes economic and social sense to curb first these who bring the smallest economic and social benefit.
I actually don't know which group that is, nor I even think that is the general way to go, rather than solve the housing problem by building more houses and infrastructure; but assuming this is the route we're taking, I'd assume the first group out wouldn't be the tourists.
I don't trust they don't let drunk people board the flight at all. The reports put me off from ever visiting Mallorca, even though the north IS supposed to be really beautiful and quiet (and certainly also parts of the South).
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