Since the end of the pandemic, travel has boomed all over the world, but Barcelona in Spain is getting too many visitors. The city first hit a historic milestone in 2018 with an amazing 11.9 million visitors. Meanwhile, the pandemic did slow down the influx but has quickly bounced back, with 9.7 million visitors during 2022. However, this year, Barcelona is suffering from overtourism. Read on to find out more about the residents’ “tourismphobia.”

Barcelona, Spain and overtourism

As travelers once again flock to Barcelona, they visit the Boqueria Market, La Rambla, Ciutat Vella and the beaches of the city. However, due to this, property and rental prices in the central city soar, making affordable housing a thing of the past for locals.

The city has a population of just 1.65 million, which means that occasionally it finds itself in a situation where visitors outnumber the residents, especially in the peak summer season. This has led to some local residents airing their frustrations by spraying graffiti messages, telling the tourists to go home in the city’s cobblestone streets.

Now, overtourism, or “tourismphobia” seems to have made a comeback in Barcelona in 2023. Meanwhile, the city has seen evolving opinions among its local neighborhoods relating to tourism.

Moreover, Vila de Gracia, one particularly popular and vibrant district famous for its lively festivals, recently saw locals marking the first day of the festival by marking its streets with graffiti. According to Metropoli, rather than being destructive, graffiti voices the true concerns about the impact of tourism in the city.

The façades throughout the district were marked with around 20 graffiti messages, urging tourists to go home. In fact, the phrase “Tourist, go home” is now a common sight in Gracia’s streets. Meanwhile, this raises questions as to whether they can be considered “neighborhood festivities” when tourists outnumber the residents.

Taking the graffiti into context

While the graffiti messages may seem harsh, they should be taken in the context of locals’ frustration. Meanwhile, some locals have even joked that they will spit in tourists’ beers.

Meanwhile, the once close-knit neighborhood of Gracia has undergone change due to modernization and gentrification, which has, in turn, led to rising costs and rents. These days, long-time local residents have to coexist alongside digital nomads and first-time tourists from around the world, leading to tensions between residents and tourists.

New tourism model for Barcelona

This has led to Jaume Collboni, the Mayor of Barcelona, calling for a new perspective on Barcelona’s tourism model. In response to locals’ protests, Collboni proposes shifting towards a model focused on effective tourism management, rather than overly promoting it. In fact, the major envisions, “a city with tourism, not a city solely reliant on tourism.”

Due to this, the Barcelona City Council is developing a comprehensive tourism model built on four key pillars. These are ensuring quality visitors and the employment opportunities they bring while maintaining sustainability and a balanced urban and metropolitan area. Moreover, the model will promote order and coexistence in the city, with a call for considerate and respectful tourism, as well as advancing regulated tourism in collaboration with the travel industry.

Venice in Italy has had struggles with overtourism of its own and has introduced a tax for day-trippers. The city has also banned cruise ships from the lagoon. Meanwhile, Amsterdam has created videos to dissuade young British men from getting drunk in the streets of the city. Moreover, the port is banning cruise ships from docking.