The anti-tourism demonstration in Barcelona brings together 600 people
The figure contrasts with the thousands of attendees who attended the same event last year.
BarcelonaNew protest against tourism in Barcelona. The Catalan capital has hosted a new demonstration against overcrowding, a year after the protest featuring water pistols used by attendees. They heckled some of the city's tourists. The Mossos d'Esquadra wanted to prevent the march from passing by the Sagrada Família, as the organizers had wanted, and finally both parties ended up agreeing on an alternative route.
Since 12 noon this Saturday, hundreds of people had gathered in the Jardinets de Gràcia to demand a new model that would encourage "decreased tourism" in the city, in a demonstration with the motto Tourism steals our bread, our roof and our future, in reference to the impact this industry has on such important aspects of the city's residents' daily lives as work and housing.
The attendees, around 600 according to estimates by the Guardia Urbana, aimed to "disrupt the normality of tourism" with the protest. Finally, the march began at approximately 12:30 p.m., descending Passeig de Gràcia, surrounded by a heavy police presence. The protest is taking place through the streets of Barcelona's Eixample district.
The march progressed normally, with the exception of a few tense moments when it stopped in front of a hostel on Còrsega Street. A group of protesters sealed the door and put up stickers. An employee of the establishment confronted the protesters, who yelled at him and sprayed him with water pistols. However, the incident did not escalate and the demonstration continued, although before continuing, some of the protesters set off a firecracker in front of the hostel itself.
In fact, the Assembly of Neighborhoods for the Decrease in Tourism (ABDT), which is organizing the demonstration, encouraged people to once again carry water pistols during the presentation of the demonstration as a "popular symbol of resistance to the plundering of monoculture tourism." Aside from the demonstration in Barcelona, the organizers assure that this Saturday there will also be mobilizations in San Sebastián, Palma, and Ibiza, and others will carry out symbolic actions such as Lisbon, Menorca, Naples, Granada, Venice, and Córdoba.
Avoid the Sagrada Familia
The protest remained at a standstill for a few minutes at the intersection of Rosselló and Sicilia streets after the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police) refused to authorize the organizers to direct the march toward the Sagrada Família church, one of the hotspots for overcrowding in the Catalan capital. Members of the police force mediated with the protest leaders to find an alternative route that would not pass by the monumental basilica designed by Antoni Gaudí.
A few minutes before two o'clock, the demonstration resumed, eventually bypassing the areas adjacent to the Sagrada Família, despite passing close by. According to ARA, the protest's route past the Sagrada Família was not an acceptable option for the Mossos d'Esquadra (Catalan police). The protest ended with the reading of a manifesto against overcrowding and calling for a decrease in this activity in Barcelona.
