Barcelona with tourists

Barcelona is a metropolis with a heterogeneous population of 1,6 million, 1/4th of these residents come from 125 different countries -including the US, and +5000 US citizens are permanent residents of the city. So, come again... who are "they"?

For too long there's been too many visitors to a city designed for 1,6 million people: over 12 million every year. Certain areas have become quite "uninhabitable" for the day-to-day lives of the residents. On top of that, while, most of the tourists behave while visiting the city, a chunk of them do not, and residents are fed up with these behaviours.

Despite the city does NOT rely on tourism -it barely adds 15% of its GDP- tourism-related activities have added to creating a bubble that has dramatically increased housing prices and rentals and gentrified many neighbourhoods. Nothing new... many other cities are suffering the same problems.

What's been demanded by citizens to the local and national governments in many of these cities with over-tourism is a curb on the overall number of people visiting the city at any given time. This can be achieved with the implementation of different measures. Amsterdam has banned cruises in the city, Venice has introduced a steep fee for day-only visitors, Barcelona will limit the number of cruises in the city on the same day and will reduce the number of available beds aimed at tourists, Berlin is aiming to reduce the number of backpackers visiting the city...

Even though the reasons behind it can vary—it likely depends on how directly affects the amounts of tourists in your city on your day-to-day —the "anti-tourism" sentiment isn't personal, nor is it about targeting any group based on origin, race, or religion. It's focused on the problem itself, which is over-tourism. I also want to point out that the media's sensationalism in labelling this attitude as "anti-tourism" is pretty off the mark. With few exceptions, it doesn't reflect how most residents see the issue. It's not about being anti-anything; it's about demanding that governments regulate the number of visitors so that everyday life in the city can coexist with tourism.

As per "getting the pulse", as explained at the beginning of this post, it's rather difficult for a tourist to know who is and who is not a resident of the city, and you'd probably get a thousand different points of view depending on the circumstances of the local you talk to.

I agree that as a first time visitor you won't know who is a local except if you ask maybe someone in the service industry who is not likely to bite the hand that is feeding it.
Tourists also are not loving that there are too many other tourists. More importantly you just need to watch out for pick pockets in the areas most tourists go, and that has been a factor many years.

We were there for a week in May and had a fabulous time. We didn’t experience any hostility or animosity. We knew Barcelona was experiencing a drought, so we went about our day respecting that, as we do every day at home.

No, cruise ships not being banned. Maybe some limits, but the people involved in the ports and cruise ships also have some sway.

Yes, there have been some protests, some publicized incidents with water guns, but if you look at all the literature from protest groups and statements from the protests, they explicitly state they are not against tourists, but want the local government to implement policies to alleviate the side effects of tourism, even though some things may not even be related to tourism (Inflation in housing and other goods for example is an effect all over, not entirely related to tourism)

Yes, it will be crowded, it will be touristy, if you plan on visiting any of the main sights (Sagrada Familia, Picasso museum, Parc Guell) make sure you get tickets well ahead.

Don't be put off by the talk, go and enjoy Barcelona.
Just get a money belt to protect your valuables from pickpockets, it is terrible in Barcelona.

I agree with all above, you'll find most of Barcelona locals are just apathetic towards tourists. I would be more worried about being robbed in Barcelona than having some slightly annoyed locals not welcome you with opens arms.

So, my bad with the ‘they’. I was meaning the locals of Barcelona. I am just trying to get feedback from anyone that has been there in the last year + to show our friends that, as friendly/courteous tourists, we would be welcomed visitors. We do enjoy cruising, and with that comes a so called bad rap, since many people aren’t fans of the whole cruising industry. To each his own I say….
I sadly see many examples of the bad behavior exhibited by so many tourists, and I don’t get it!
Anywho, I thank you all for your responses. And am so glad you have been having wonderful experiences (sans pickpockets) visiting Barcelona! I truly hope to get there!! (With said friends or not).

No one will know you’re from a cruise ship if you don’t have your ID hanging around your neck or a tote bag with the logo on it.

I, too, am worried about anti-tourist actions in Barcelona. Anti-tourist actions include quirting strangers with water guns, ramming them with bicyles, and generally behaving with hostility. We've already bought our airline tickets to Barcelona. We plan on visiting in October. I hope that the numbers of tourists reduce then, so as to avoid angering the city's residents.

We landed in Barcelona around Noon on 8/15/24 and left by train in the morning on 8/17/24. Seeing la Sagrada Familia was something that I was absolutely not going to miss on our trip to Spain. We essentially were in Barcelona for 2 days. We felt absolutely no animosity or dislike because we were tourists. In fact, if I had not been a member of this forum and had read about the anti-tourist protests, I would not have known that there was any sort of issue in Barcelona. People were friendly, we saw the sites we wanted, we didn't waste water, and we moved on to Madrid. There was no negative vibe whatsoever.

I echo everyone else's comments. We spent 2 weeks in May, and everyone we encountered was friendly and nice. We had a wonderful time. I wouldn't mind living there.

A friend just returned a week ago from Barcelona. Surprisingly, she hadn’t heard the reports of protests before she went. She said she saw no anti tourist activity and she felt welcomed wherever she went in the city. She had a wonderful time!