You Might Want To Think TWICE Before Traveling To Barcelona

Protestors are spraying Barcelona tourists with water guns out of frustration of their rent and cost-of-living hikes. Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian discuss on The Young Turks. Your Support is Crucial to the Show: tyt.com/team
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"Thousands of protesters took to the streets of the city in the latest demonstration against mass tourism in Spain, which has seen similar actions in the Canary Islands and Mallorca recently, decrying the impact on living costs and quality of life for local people.
The demonstration was organised by a group of more than 100 local organizations, led by the Assemblea de Barris pel Decreixement Turístic
(Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth)."
***
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240709__TB013Barcelona

[@birdlover7776]

This is happening in places all over the world not just Barcelona. Tourists are not the problem it’s the real estate and chamber of commerce groups that got greedy

[@jaykarimi7123]

You are right. Stupid ignorant people like to displace rather than resolve. .

[@CraigMcfly1985]

That make sense.

[@antclerfont8478]

Wow.....

[@JohnSmith-to5ow]

This is how the locals can make the people in power listen to them. It's brilliant because it's non violent, it's just annoying.

[@tlee4218]

@@JohnSmith-to5ow yes like NY

[@sa4555]

This is stupid. Majority of tourists have nothing to do with housing becoming unaffordable. Target short term properties and their owners instead of attacking tourists.

[@raaspider]

exactly, also the reason the government allows it is they collect taxes from those places, the problem is the cost of life goes up for others with the incoming of dollars/euros and landowners seeing its better to rent short term then full year leases. So like you said they need laws to address that problem.

[@anaradu1835]

exactly I've never seen such a stupid thing to do. forbid airbnb, short term rentals and there u go. hypocrites

[@kajunshaman]

@sa4555 yes, but some people is Spain are too stupid to understand that

[@ericoxner326]

@@sa4555 Given they acting like this.City pretty or not I would take my money and go self else were.I do not go where I am not wanted.However the same may happened to them on their vacations.

[@sergeikorolevGZ]

@@sa4555 go to Madrid, they'll love u there

[@studiodsr]

It’s simple. Ban Airbnb. Affordable residential housing is more important than affordable vacation housing.

[@user-vz4ec3dx1r]

@@studiodsr Correct, but the cat is out of the box, the “new” capitalists owning an apartment in Spain will use their money to circumvent that! It is a sweet system, buy an apartment for free using rent to finance it. It is available to us because we earn four times as much money wise, poor in our country but able to do in Spain what we can’t do home.

[@jackied962]

why is it more important?

[@user-vz4ec3dx1r]

@@jackied962 All these apps airbnb, uber, fodora remove wealth from commons to the 1%. Before airbnb a lot of the money tourism created went to Spanish companies, now Spanish are allowed only to clean while money leavs Spain. Then german salarty is four times that of Spanish, enabling them to outcompete Spanish buyers buying their first house with a second house. This house is then financed with money from tourism making Spanish unable to afford housing. Then second effect is food prices and prices for services on goods are on a market with german salaries while Spanish need to buy them with Spanish salaries.

[@Greg-io1ip]

Correct! Homestead Exemption abuse is what allows someone to claim "I'm homesteaded in Italy and USA!" It's exactly what Ted Cruz did to illegally run for POTUS in 2016. You can't be homesteaded in more than one house/condo/cabin. Just like you cannot be born in Canada on free Canadian healthcare unless your parents declared the baby will be a Canadian citizen. You can't go back later and say, "oh, here's the hospital bill money, now pretend I didn't claim myself as a Canadian citizen to get free healthcare for over 40 years, thanks!" Merrick Garland's mentor and best friend Jaime Gorlick is leading Merrick astray. I wonder why? Could it be because Jaime Gorlick is Jared Kushner's attorney?

[@mr.relampagonegro2107]

@@jackied962 because people who live in a city take priority over those just passing through. I am sure you would be delighted if your land lord kicked you so he could rent your flat to a tourist.

[@stevemcelmy9354]

Considering how reliant Spain's economy is on tourism, I'd say be careful what you wish for.

[@Hrkdntbsid]

blame Airbnb, when I was in Spain 3 years ago I meet a guy from Madrid who owned my BNB , he told me he bought 13 properties and turned them to BNB .

[@georginaellison6280]

It's sad, I thought that bnb was great for people who didn't have money for hotels. It's obvious that greed has taken over. Big companies buying housing and inflating the rents 😢😢😢😢😢😢

[@rooster1012]

Half the homes here in Florida on my street are Airbnbs it has been disaster for people wanting to find a place to live.

[@ChallengerBanX]

@@Hrkdntbsid You hit the nail on the head. As soon as airbnb came out in Barcelona, the entire economy changed. I was earning more, subletting rooms on airbnb than at a job. All the people with jobs, suddenly couldn't find a decent priced room or flat. Then the government cracked down and required a license to have an Airbnb costing €120,000, but not before handing free licenses out to all their friends, families and cronies.

[@sidadams7394]

@@georginaellison6280 it was in the early days.

[@AzizAmri-l5d]

*I'm from Tunisia and I want to say to tourists you are welcome in my country 💖 we have weather better than the weather in barcelona , we have food better than the food in barcelona and we have beaches better than the beaches in barcelona , Tunisia = 🍝🍽🌞⛱🌊🥂*

[@nickinoelle5331]

It’s very rude to spray anyone with water gun especially if you don’t know what’s inside that water gun. Those tourist are just enjoying their vacation and sitting down with their family to eat lunch and getting sprayed is very passive aggressive. Their government and politicians are not managing their city well if the locals are this upset.

[@Haegemon]

It's over 95ºF there, probably they are wetter by sweat than by the water those tiny guns can spray

[@Rachel-vh3qs]

@@nickinoelle5331 that’s not passive aggressive, it’s just straight up aggressive. Nothing passive about it.

[@nickinoelle5331]

@@Rachel-vh3qs you’re absolutely right, it was simply aggressive. And upon returning to this video with some people justifying the actions of these angry water sprayer mob…….imo those tourist did not enjoyed getting water splashed on them unsuspectingly while they’re relaxing eating their lunch….no matter how hot it is in Barcelona these commenters are delusional to think the tourist enjoyed these angry and aggressive mob telling them to go home and leave.

[@kleard2]

Let me get this straight. It's OK for free loading migrants to enter the country, but tourists, who are only there temporarily and who spend money, are a big problem? By the way, isn't spraying tourists with water guns assault?

[@LoneWolf-sy5ht]

My thoughts exactly. We have to deal with all these immigrants coming into our country and share our resources and these Spanish people are complaining about tourism which boost the economy? I would have a fit if they sprayed me with a water bottle for their government misusing the funds.

[@ZapataE]

@@kleard2 So every time you take a shower you’re being assaulted ?

[@JohnSmith-pn1vv]

Spain was long ago lost to the socialists, that's why so many dishwashers in London are from Spain.

[@realBryanAlejandro]

The tourist are not at fault, go to your local government and address the issues with them, is your home after all.

[@mercuryman9142]

Exactly. Politicians need to incentivice new council home building. They also need to access some of the profits from tourism to do it

[@xuxonpic]

Just as long as these people stay in their own country and never ever leave too! Good for goose, good for gander!

[@Ben9481]

a war on tourism will not end well for Barcelona- bad news for the hospitality industry -

[@bismarck9]

*IF YOU EVER THOUGHT TO VISIT SPAIN, JUST COME HERE TO BRAZIL AND YOU WON'T GET HOSED, ON THE OPPOSITE, YOU WILL NEVER FEEL SO WELCOME*

[@R_00N]

Brazilians are very welcoming excellent country 👍🏾

[@industrialfun]

@@bismarck9 love Brasil, so much better than Spain!

[@trekkienzl2862]

Barcelona, Las Palmas and Majorca: **places who's economy is almost exclusively dependent on tourism** Barcelona, Las Palmas and Majorca: *TOURISTS GO AWAY!* Barcelona, Las Palmas and Majorca (during COVID): *END LOCKDOWNS AND BRING BACK TOURISTS!* Barcelona, Las Palmas and Majorca (after COVID): *TOURISTS GO AWAY!*

[@csdragonfly]

@@trekkienzl2862 😁 Yeah, you're right. BUT, I don't think these protestors were the same people asking for the end of lockdows. Just saying...

[@jvjjjvvv9157]

I checked your profile and it is quite fitting that you seem to live in the antipodes of Spain, because your knowledge of Barcelona is about as far from reality as it can possibly be. Barcelona's economy is not 'almost exclusively dependent on tourism'. I don't know what's the exact figure (neither do you) because it varies across sources, but maybe 10-20%. And I have lived in Barcelona and don't know a single person who missed tourism during the pandemic (because, contrary to your embarrassingly ignorant belief, most people in Barcelona work in sectors that have nothing to do with tourism).

[@jkbell87]

Imagine if we were doing this shit in New York and we have a lot of the same problems with housing and rising costs across the board. I don’t blame tourism. This is nuts.

[@rexx9496]

Right. Barcelona is hardly the only city in the world wroth a housing crunch. But nobody else is going around acting a fool with water guns.

@@rexx9496 Ya in NY the illegals just set up illegal shops and increase rent and decrease wages.

[@janeceeastwood8035]

I think the Spaniards need to be careful of what they wish for.

[@twiceshy9773]

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!!!😂😂😐😳

[@Gerryjournal]

They want the tourist dollar without the tourist. Fools

[@bryancoulter5998]

I went to Barcelona once... I dunno why people want to go there?

[@rasterman2792]

No problem 😂no body should never go back let see how that's go

[@NeccoWecco]

I lived in Spain for almost 8 years in the 2010s. I speak fluent Spanish. I went back a few months ago for a visit and went to Barcelona for the first time. I'd never spend my money there again. People were very rude, openly hostile towards anyone they viewed as 'others' and they weren't even Catalonian themselves. Witnessed multiple thefts and I was only there for 3 days. I was threatened to be mugged myself by some macho who thought he could threaten a woman. I wouldn't hesitate to say spend your money in any other town in Spain besides Barcelona. Go to Seville, Valencia, Bilbao... pick literally any city besides BCN and MAD.

[@ChallengerBanX]

@@NeccoWecco Thing out those other cities, is that they're all boring compared to bcn. Like literally everything closes at night in all 3 of those cities. Unless you're just sightseeing.

[@mr.relampagonegro2107]

Why not Madrid? I have lived here for 32 years and work in the tourism sector. After travelling around Europe my clients say they love Madrid the best. So again, why put Madrid in the same sack as stinky, thieving Barcelona?

[@ChallengerBanX]

@@mr.relampagonegro2107 BCN has mountains, forests, rivers, sea, etc. Madrid is nice but some people see it as more of a business-as-usual oriented place. Somewhere like Alicante would be more comparable in that regard. Of course the best city in Spain is Grenada, imo.

[@mr.relampagonegro2107]

@@ChallengerBanX Madrid has over 40 museums like the Prado, Reina Sofía and Thyssen. Barcelona has Miró, Picasso and Museu D'Arte de Catalunya which are nice but nothing compared to Madrid Museums. Madrid has mountains, rivers incredible parks (Retiro, Madrid Rio, Parque del Oeste etc) but no sea of course. I would not consider Madrid, a vibrant living city, as a business as usual city. My North American and British clients agree with me after having visited London, Paris, Rome and Barcelona and according to them they absolutely love Madrid. Granada is nice but very small and very very hot in the summer and of course no sea either.

[@ChallengerBanX]

@@mr.relampagonegro2107 Yeah, the south can be untenable in summer

[@cachi-7878]

It’s not the tourists causing the increase in housing, it’s the expatriates. The bunch of YT videos showing the “best” places in the world to retire are fueling this crazy migration. Portugal is now also making it harder to retire there.

[@FlightX101]

Brah rich people with money to burn arent tuning into TYT for travel advice lmao…..

[@bushwacka5187]

@@FlightX101 No he meant You Tube lol. I read it like TYT first too.

[@j.clements2093]

Then the government should place limits. Raise the tourism tax and funnel that money to affordable housing. Make a minimum wage. Tax foreign investment. Not blame unassuming tourists.

[@umwhatthistime]

It's a problem all over Europe. Too many tourists ruin nice places. Same in Venice

[@user-ye2sm1gq7l]

Europeans are one of the large group of tourists around the world. They are hypocrits.

[@mercuryman9142]

If government doesn't enjoy the profits of tourism by increasing taxes on the rich companies, then over tourism will happen. The government will not be able to increase Spaniards wages unless they do this

[@8eeable]

They will cry when tourism dries out and then beg for tourists to return. Housing is a worldwide problem. Acting like toddlers is not the solution.

[@LittleZelda]

So they are going after tourists because the people in their government can't figure out their housing crisis, that makes all the sense in the world (sarcasm)

[@MajimeTV]

Thats why its a protest. Mostly upset over rent and litter

[@mercuryman9142]

@MajimeTV If landlords agree to raise the rents because of high interest rates, how is deterring tourists going to solve the problem?

[@grahamjones5400]

Dont blame the tourists ,blame the local and national government authorities and corporations.

[@Corndogg316]

Hawaii too.

[@dimensiondimensiones2938]

This is a common problem that is happening all over the world unfortunately. These tourists and expats travel around like plague increasing the rents of the local population. Every government should put a limit to the number of people that can visit a country. That's why a country has a strong military, and civil police to enforce the law if needed. Personally i think it's important to first think about why gentrification is bad. A neighbourhood changing isn't inherently bad, and neither is people moving in or out. What is bad is forcing people out of their known native environment and making them live in worse conditions. And worse can mean many things: really just worse living spaces, but also worse connection to jobs, schools, stores or the fact that people's social and cultural ties are being cut. Many friends and family who used to lived just a short walk away might be hours away now.

[@jackied962]

this sounds pretty xenophobic.

[@mercuryman9142]

Ignorant comment. Instead of limits to numbers of tourists your Government should increase taxes on the rich companies (cruises, airbnb). Then pass tax revenue money to increase wages to match the new life expenses for local people. Once this happens the limiting will automatically happen but Barcelonians have better wages because of tourists. Its simply a political and financial system issue

[@margaretcadogan5199]

Remember this if you see a person from Barcelona visiting anywhere else.

[@2120musiclover]

Or, you could just look for the people clearly visible in the video

[@LostChildOfTime]

Remember it... and forget about it.

[@jvjjjvvv9157]

Yeah, and if a black person somewhere steals from you, remember to blame all black people as well. Fantastic argument, great logic.

[@aguas6961]

Rent and living expenses…that’s not tourism my friend that’s local laws that allow people to stay… once you rent and live in Barcelona your not a tourist anymore..

[@stevencooke6451]

As was said earlier, they are attacking the wrong people (except for the few who are perhaps a-holes, but the protesters are not discriminating_.

[@MichelMawon4982]

All of that is valid, and happens in brown countries ALL of the time. In fact, some people move to those countries, segregate themselves from the local population with their own restaurants, schools and gated communities and yet, those populations never behave so violently. People should boycott Barcelona and let them live the way they’re requesting.

[@gary1973video]

Barcelona is “too beautiful”? I’ve been everywhere in Europe and while Barcelona has its charm, it is far from the most beautiful city in Europe. Can think of 10 more beautiful cities right off the cuff. Secondly, don’t blame tourists, who are bringing billions to your city. Blame your kleptocratic leaders who are putting it all in their own pockets.

[@diegoflores9237]

Cities like Barcelona, Lisbon, Milan won't take a hit if some people decide to skip them. They're still going to be packed

[@saurabhsonic]

Please list some of those cities for our benefit. I'm guessing Rome is one of those?

[@gary1973video]

​@@saurabhsonicI actually don't think Rome is very beautiful “overall”. The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain and Vatican are worth seeing, but the overall architecture is better in Florence in my opinion. That’s the metric I am using… is the whole city a work of art. That’s my issue with Barcelona. The Sagrada Familia and Guadi architecture are cool, but I think overall the city is overrated. There are tons of uninteresting buildings and shops all over the city. In no particular order, here are a bunch of big and small cities in Europe I think are much more beautiful overall... Prague, Paris, Budapest, Stratford upon Avon, Cinque Terre, Bellagio, Florence, York, Munich, Czesky Krumlov, Colmar, Bibury, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bruges, Dubrovnik. I know I am missing a lot and it's also fairly subjective. Barcelona is coincidentally the very first city I visited in Europe and while I enjoyed it, it never pops into my mind when people ask me where to go in Europe.

[@saurabhsonic]

@@gary1973video - thanks so much for your thorough answer. I hope to be able to visit all of these places someday!

[@mercuryman9142]

Agreed. Government should convene ASAP to raise tax on airbnb impose tourism licences for over profiting corporations. If corruption is preventing this then federal government should investigate and increase anti corruption measures

[@crosstudio]

15% of Barcelona's GDP is tourism. So let them have what they want. Don't go to Barcelona and let their economy dip by 15%.

[@JohnSmith-pn1vv]

Where did you get 15% from? Spain doesn't produce anything they spend half the day sleeping, businesses open for about 3 hours a day, restaurants included. Tourism is far higher than 15% of their economy. Barcelona keeps the entire Spain afloat with tourism, not with non-existent manufacturing.

[@mercuryman9142]

I think its probably 25% or more

[@UltraMegaMango]

I don’t get how this has anything to do with tourism and not the integrity of landlords and owners

[@huizhechen3779]

Landlords and owners are usually bereft of integrity but replete with greed. Less is more!

[@mercuryman9142]

Breadheads

[@AsaTrenchard1865]

100% tourist Boycott on Barcelona will teach them some manners 👍 In a year unemployment will double and the slags will be half price 😐

[@Goodzillla1066]

Agreed. In this life, there's always a heavy price for disrespecting people especially if you bite the hand that's feeding you. Then you are treated just like a snake 🐍

[@nicholasc.5944]

woww theyre exposing themselves

[@justinbarnhouse4940]

Yet Another reason not to visit barcelona! Viva Madrid, Granada, Cordoba, Sevilla, etc

[@Hermothersdaughter665]

There's an anti tourist sentiment all over Europe . And Canada.

[@TobiasC-mg4zk]

Canadian people are the most welcoming and warm people you’ll ever meet. Visiting Canada is popular because of their culture of hospitality to strangers.

[@TFGcine]

Ha ha. Once the tourism stop they'll be crying about their economy declining.

[@koushikdas1992]

What will be your problem then!? You can invite 100 million tourists in your country instead and earn a load of money.😁

[@TFGcine]

@@koushikdas1992 huh?

[@msabsa6348]

I was only in Portugal for two weeks. I didn't experience any of that, most of the locals were very friendly. If Spain doesn't want tourists, that's fine, but they will lose out. There are other countries in Europe where tourists can visit Portugal and Italy are two of my favorite places. Very very beautiful countries and the food is delicious.

[@celdur4635]

Madrid is booming, this is a Barcelona problem. They are extreme NIMBY and their economy is tanking.

[@JohnSmith-pn1vv]

Except every city in Spain is broke and kept afloat by Barcelona and their tourism dollars.

[@SaHlGood]

It’d be hilarious if you go on vacation and you bring your own water gun and you start spraying them back but you bring like a super soaker

[@mercuryman9142]

😂

[@lobos342]

I went to Barcelona a few weeks ago in June. I would not call it beautiful. It had dog poop on the sidewalk and it smelled like piss. I went before the protest and I could feel unwelcomed. In one restaurant they served us this slop of food, I asked for the menu and they refused to give me one when. I tried ordering something.

[@Scribe13013]

That sounds awesome!

[@lobos342]

@@Scribe13013 I guess if you like that type of stuff. 😅

[@mercuryman9142]

Sounds like a racist lower class grumpy people who can't lobby their politicians and instead believe in post truth and take it out on the wrong people

[@ccatarinajm7114]

Another problem not mentioned here is water. Tourist places (hotels, fountains, swimming pools) get to use a lot of water but residents have to be careful because it's been so dry lately. Locals aren't happy that the hotels and such can use water lavishly so that tourists won't notice the problem.

[@bigmonmagoomba9634]

I’m pretty sure the tourists will get the message and go somewhere else.

[@freepancakes6011]

I am spanish and I live in a very touristic area, I understand the frustations of this because it is practically unliveable here if you don't own a house. I don't blame tourists though, even though mass tourism tends to be very exploitative for workers, but still I don't blame the tourists, they just want to have a good time and most of us are ok with that as long as they are respectful. Who we really need to blame more is greedy landlords and greedy employers. Last year I worked in real estate here and in those six months there wasn't any long term rental near us, many apartments were unavailable because the owners were waiting for summer time to charge 1000€ a week, and to be frank I wouldn't live in half of those apartments. I have also worked as a waiter in the past and in these cases it is underpaid, there isn't enough staff to cover for all the work, you work 10 hours and then go home to basically faint and go back the next day. We need the government to care about the working class, not only about the huge amount of revenue that bussiness owners get.

[@Telendil]

BS my cost of living and rent has more than doubled in the last decade. And we have no tourism here. Wich means when they are only at 70% increase of costs it means apperntly tourism is keeping the prices down.

[@Stijn5]

Idiot.

[@ronin7261]

@@Stijn5 🤡

[@Canna45]

Why are Americans catching stray bullets 😂 in this comment section. The UK, Germany & France Russia are where the vast majority of their tourists are from. I mean I know U.S citizens are responsible for most international travel but it’s not to Spain apparently. UK, this is all you 😉

[@rageinbull]

We barely get vacation in the U.S.!

[@anthonyhayes930]

Tell them to skip the United States on their next vacation

[@user-vz4ec3dx1r]

This is highly expected and all sympathies to Spanish people. Airbnb destroys the housing by making rent apartments unattainable driving up prices for real estate while diverting funds out of the country. Foreign money buying up properties financing it by renting to tourists. Something only available for foreign money as a Spanish person with his income can’t do the same! The money coming in from tourism goes not to the people but often foreign investment companies buying up hotels and foodchains diverting money to the 1%. Spanish population has been taken out of the loop of money from tourism and only pays the higher price that higher demand brings on products and services.

[@theresenydahl9531]

Barcelona has more tourists than Paris. I don't even understand why, Barcelona isn't that great, no need to go there.

[@selmahare]

Yep I was there once decades ago and didn't find it any interesting. People in the services were rude too, because even decades ago it seems like they were already fed up with the tourists. And in all fairness to them, they were right then and are right now, as one of the biggest reasons why I myself didn't enjoy my very brief visit (an afternoon over the course of a road trip to France) was precisely the over-tourism. It was just beyond packed with people and Mcdonald's joints all over he place, not appealing at all. I just couldn't wait to get out of there. Overcrowded places are not pleasant to visit. The people of Barcelona have been complaining about this for decades and people just don't listen- It+s sad that it has come to this, but well.. maybe now they will be heard. They also need to pressure the Spanish government to end landlordism tho, because the tourists wouldn't also be the big contributing factor to the housing crisis that they are, if landlords weren't so greedy. That I feel is this city's biggest problem right now.

[@ChodaStanks]

Id say thats violent, if I get sprayed with water like that Im gonna get pissed

[@marvin2678]

somehow they dont seem to have a problem with young military aged men illegaly eneterign their country....

[@josephframpton8796]

I get their point, but the entire Spanish economy is dependant on tourism. If tourists stop going, their economy going into a tailspin. Fix the problem not attack the tourists

[@dargful]

Aren’t tourists ones that bring the economy to them?

[@gregap8282]

they're shortsighted idiots. They should be pressing to ban Airbnb and short term rentals, but they take their frustrations on the tourists.

[@johnmoyle4195]

We need to do this in Australia too. We need tourists and Airbnb gone.

[@Alexander44665]

Message received loud and clear! Also, please never come to the U.S.

[@MT-ys6ju]

Barcelona used to be the gem of Spain, economically stronger than Madrid. People from all over Spain moved there to enjoy the prosperity. Nowadays Catalonia is on the way of becoming an isolated communist society. Their economy is already tanking and it's rapidly becoming a dump. With their separatist mentality, industries have fled the region because of hostilities and difficulties involving the Catalan language. They are on the path of self destruction. Their next move is to dismantle and destroy the only industry that have left.

[@volkerengels5298]

If a rotten us says it... Hola

[@mjollnirteormyn6288]

Putting communist in your crappy analyse shows a commie had a date with ur mom

[@mercuryman9142]

Sorry to hear that. It sounds like nationalists are promoting xenobphioia which is very destructive. Hope the government can increase taxes and raise minimum wage

[@juliangomez5368]

Since the early 1990’s the Spanish government has aggressively marketed Spain as an ideal tourist destination-with little to no attention paid to how over tourism might affect local populations. This isn’t because they like tourists. Who does? It is because they wanted the revenue it brings in. The backlash directed against tourists is both hypocritical and childish. Spain will get exactly what it deserves when the tourism dollars dry up

[@rebeccarittenhouse2203]

I like most tourists. They are here to have fun, learn and socialize. Whats not to like.

[@Fozzi1-1836]

Let’s see if they can make up the $$$ difference when they’re all gone.

[@kenmvilla]

I was in barcelona in Oct. Lovely city. The locals seemed fine. Not overly polite, but not rude like they are in Rome or Paris.

[@YTPrenewed]

This is literally assault. This sort of behavior shouldn't be rewarded with appeasement of criminals' demands.

[@OGCHUCK1]

Let send tourist to your house. Let them trash you place.

[@sidious36]

@@OGCHUCK1you’re conveniently ignoring the EUR 9 Billion that these tourists bring every year.

[@piccalillipit9211]

Its literally NOT in Europe - Get a life yank

[@idofentanyl]

@@OGCHUCK1If this comment was satire, then bravo. If it wasn’t… I don’t know what to say.

[@AzizAmri-l5d]

*I'm from Tunisia and I want to say to tourists you are welcome in my country 💖 we have weather better than the weather in barcelona , we have food better than the food in barcelona and we have beaches better than the beaches in barcelona , Tunisia = 🍝🍽🌞⛱🌊🥂*

[@ransertu7630]

I thought rent is going up everywhere. Why are they special

[@shodannadohs4045]

The water guns seems to be an Eureka Moment for the People of Barcelona. They're all over the News and Tourist are finally considering not traveling there. The Government needs to work for the people and cooperate if they want continue to fill their pockets with Tourism.

[@imthebest4957]

Spraying people with water guns? So assaulting people

[@mercuryman9142]

It's just one step away from violence

[@nyx6509]

What’s the point of the city getting a lot of money from tourism, if it makes the quality of life go down? I lived in Barcelona before rampant, destructive tourism, and it was a greater place to live.

[@usx06240]

Good luck with that.

[@JohnSmith-pn1vv]

You lived in Barcelona before tourism? Wow

[@nyx6509]

@@JohnSmith-pn1vv Ha ha, no, there was tourism but not the destructive kind there is now. Very different 20 years ago.

[@mercuryman9142]

It sounds like the BCN local government have allowed tourism to become too profitable. You should lobby for local authorities to 1- raising taxes for owners of more than 2 properties, impose a tourist licence for landlords 2- raise the minimum wage to follow inflation, raise civil service wages by: 3- raising the amount of business tax or even impose a tourist tax/licence on restaurants, hotels, especially airbnb 4- government should take a portion of the airbnb profit as tax and this will help fund raising minimum wage 5- raise the amount of taxes on the airports and flight industries especially foreign airlines profiting from over-tourism 6- stop locals from heckling tourists by educating them and engaging with them

[@samc.319]

On one hand, you may find that spraying tourists with water is not effective, but on the other, it made you speak about their issues.

[@HughJass-jv2lt]

❤❤

[@marco477utep]

The Spanish complaining about tourists yet they destroyed MesoAmerica. Such little .....

[@mikalmos369]

Short term rentals are destroying the housing market for locals around the globe. It was one thing when it was housing owned by locals renting it out, but real estate investment firms are buying housing all over the place and this is a problem

[@mercuryman9142]

@@mikalmos369 Wrong. Government is at fault for not imposing enough taxes on airbnb and landlords owning multiple properties. Government can sort out the problem whilst increasing revenue to fund more wages. Over tourism is a gem but you need smart government to make it profitable for everyone

[@LiveFreeOrDie2A]

Why not improve your own economy instead so your own citizens can actually afford the rent?

[@Stijn5]

Waaw, you're a total idiot.

[@ronin7261]

@@Stijn5 🤡

[@AMACHiiBiong]

The problem is (seems to apply to most tourism hotspots), that TOURISM MONEY and TAX isn’t really benefiting the locals; it’s just subject to corruption.

[@jaymike3302]

Yeah Cenk seems to think that higher taxes help the people...which is ridiculous.

[@csdragonfly]

@@AMACHiiBiong Exactly!

[@superdog797]

of course it benefits the locals. Who do you think owns the businesses and holds the jobs that serve the tourists?

[@mercuryman9142]

Sad if local government didn't know how to sail on the crest of tourists frenzy. They just need to impose tourism licences everywhere and tax the biggest companies making the most profit

[@jaymike3302]

@@mercuryman9142 Raising taxes HURTS the locals. And only benefits the government officials.

[@wtrujillo9250]

hey stop all tourism to barcelona...... its not like their unemployment is thru the roof and don't have any major industries..... oh wait that is exactly where they are at.....lol. I won't spend my money where I'm not wanted.....

[@jesusgallardo8685]

¿Te apellidas Trujillo? No creo que tengas dinero para venir a España

[@wtrujillo9250]

@@jesusgallardo8685 que come mierda eres. Yo vivo muy bien en los Estados Unidos y he visitado varias veces a espana. Yo no le doy mis dolares a los que no lo quieren. Muy facil. Pero cuando se esten muriendo de hambre que no protesten.

[@Qqfuuuuuuk]

During Covid, Spain was happy without tourists? I remember an article saying that tourist cities such as Spain, Japan, and Italy had no tourists at that time and were economically desperate.

[@lolilollolilol7773]

Japanese are complaining about tourists as well. The entire country has had as many countries as Barcelona alone, and they are even less prepared.

[@krashd]

Spain, Japan and Italy are not cities.

[@NinnaFrank]

Cenk said , no raise the prices so only us rich people can go. Great idea rich guy

[@erikjohnson9075]

He said it was a short term fix to alleviate the current problem. Better longer term fixes like building more units will have to be done.

[@NinnaFrank]

@@erikjohnson9075 " short term fix " says the rich man 🤔🤔

[@mercuryman9142]

@@NinnaFrank Cenk needs to understand the dynamics of tourism. If taxes are imposed on cruise ships and foreign airlines as well as landlords with more than 2 property, this will automatically limit the amount of tourists and generate new money for wage increase

[@NinnaFrank]

@@mercuryman9142 exactly. There has to be a way to harness the tourist money,not price out middle class.. I'll never be able to afford to go , unless we plan to never come back ! LoL . But apparently people can afford it so why not use it !!

[@daisyrosario3438]

The Spaniards are going crazy!😂

[@1truek269]

With water guns 🔫 lol

[@corcoos]

Spain is a EU member, Cenk. You can't discriminate against the citizens of the other member states.

[@user-tk1jj1cp9x4]

Whatever the politics of this, anyone who does this to a visitor to their city is just a nasty person.

[@nycp1969]

Not sure I like Cenk’s idea to make Barcelona an elites only destination.

[@1DutchMan69]

I think its a stupid idea

[@streetsofvalencia]

Tourism accounts for 13% of the national GDP. Without tourists, Spain's entire economy would collapse.

[@samsmith2635]

But not Barcelona, Spain would survive without tourism to Barcelona lmao

[@larryc1616]

Let them eat cake!

[@mercuryman9142]

I doubt it's 13%. Probably more like 25%

[@Frank-Biddle]

Welp, you will be in a worse situation once you have to deal with an multi billion dollar deficient.

[@RobWright1981]

This is about housing, not bad tourist behaviour.

[@thisismetoday]

2:17 Not just the housing: the litter, the noise - many people truly don’t know how to behave when a guest in other countries. The overcrowding as well. I live in London, I avoid Leicester Square and Covent Garden like the pl. [Using the last word made my original post disappear. You cant make this crazy censorship up.]

[@yeleedkram]

Don’t some of the protesters make a living from tourism?

[@adamesd3699]

I’ve lived and traveled all over the world and my favorite vacation was actually to Barcelona. Back then the locals seemed happy about tourism. I’ve been told it’s not as nice any more.

[@gebotwin4551]

They are attacking no one. They are making a point so you can take the bait and talk about it in your network. This is not just about the rudness of the tourist, or aiming to High class tourism. It is about money, as always. You have a bunch of real state investors throwing away people from their homes and making a beatiful city into a movie set without people. Cities are to be lived, not just visited. Spain has a big housing problem and airb&b and greed are to blame. People are sick of being kicked out of the center of their cities so the rich can make more money.

[@Das-Dingo]

Maybe you would like some water in your face? Didn’t think so. Everything else spot on. But don’t advocate for some random dude to get his butt kicked or even sprayed. Might be your ass one day, bucko.

[@lupepedraza8497]

Spraying turists, shameful behaviour😢. If things need to change, talk to your politicians. Turists arent at fault.

[@mercuryman9142]

Exactly. Politicians need to incentivice building of council homes, increas taxes on the rich companies including airbnb and any landlords owns > 2 properties

[@Alexander21025]

Barcelona is a wonderful city, so you pay a premium. It's a capitalism problem, not a tourism problem. I visited it last year and thought it would be a great retirement area due to it's location, weather, and is cheap for a devoloped nation. I think about 20% of people of foreigners making it very cosmopolitan and has something for everybody. You want cheaper rent, move to a worse city or make Barcelona worse.

[@rubenrebenz1000]

Fact is these citizens blaming the tourists is misguided. Rent is high because rental owners are capitalizing on supply and demand. Rental owners caused the increased prices.

[@nickinoelle5331]

Exactly and some of those rental owners are locals reaping the rewards of tourist constant booking their Airbnb.

[@mercuryman9142]

Agreed. Local government should impose additional taxes on ownership of 2 property or more. ❤ Spain

[@DrakeBuilders]

Barcelona is known for its unique architectural masterpieces and a strong Catalan watergun cultural identity...

[@Paolablanton]

Short-term rentals are ruining people's lives everywhere.

[@carletonrutherford1799]

Absolute fact! I live in Vancouver, and that has absolutely f**ked up local rental housing.

[@mercuryman9142]

Federal laws should be able to tackle this problem. Only the government can force greedy businesses to share profits by paying more taxes

[@soccer21928]

Spain is in the European Union. None of them have Spanish passports just EU ones, and that means free movement for anyone else with an EU passport.

[@Haegemon]

Within the EU passport isn't required if you got an ID of a member state. But member states passports still exist once you need to go out of the EU.

[@soccer21928]

@@Haegemon that’s essentially what I said. Most of these tourists are probably from EU member states so it’s not practical for Spain to keep them out.

[@partyanimal2017]

Maybe the Visa restrictions is the answer. Limit the number of people coming to the country. Ban all the cruise ships.

[@mercuryman9142]

No way. Increase the taxes for cruise ships, corporations especially airbnb. Don't raise too much otherwise corruption starts. Use this money Raise minimum wage to follow local living expenses

[@abbiealverez2960]

Many people don't get to travel often and when they do it's very special and memorable, but to not share the world is a truly sad thing.

[@susansimon7428]

You might want to add a segment on the illegal squatting problem in Barcelona though the squatters aren't the poor families desparate for housing, they're criminal drug dealers. Sounds like the locals need to confront that problem before attacking tourists that actually bring money into the city.

[@hamzterix]

Tourism brings 9 billion, and housing prices rise. Something not adding up. Who's collecting all that money?

[@deserenitatem]

The money earned from tourisim does not end in the pockets of the plebians. Do you know how wealth is distributed?

[@MikesTropicalTech]

Illegal landlords and the underground rental market. See my other post.

[@Mastabeats1]

Business owners, employees and government.

[@mercuryman9142]

​@@MikesTropicalTechSorry to hear that. Illegal landlords need federal powers to tackle them. I hope the local government will be able to find a solution. ❤Spain

[@jose-marie]

You wouldn't understand. That money you say Barcelona made... It wasn't the locals. It's government taxes and mostly goes in their coffers. And then the cost of living sky rockets and suddenly you feel like you're the outsider in your own city because it's flooded by all these wealthy tourists who do not share your same struggles. You cannot afford food, housing, transport costs I flared...

[@user-ye2sm1gq7l]

OK, so never travel again in your live. Stay in Barcelona. The world is seeing the type of people that live there.

[@j.clements2093]

Okay. So protest your politicians. Not tourists. I was born and raised in Miami. Life has become unaffordable because Miami has become one of the hottest cosmopolitan cities in the world. You know who we don’t blame, THE TOURISTS! Our local government is very corrupt and doesn’t provide affordable housing when they absolutely can. My government and your government do not care about us. Wake up!

[@mercuryman9142]

It seems tourism is too profitable and government is afraid to do anything. They should increase taxes on cruise ships and airbnb. Use this money to increase minimum wage as well as civil service wage

[@fdub301]

Airbnb, vrbo, Uber, Lyft are all ruining the world

[@AzizAmri-l5d]

*I'm from Tunisia and I want to say to tourists you are welcome in my country 💖 we have weather better than the weather in barcelona , we have food better than the food in barcelona and we have beaches better than the beaches in barcelona , Tunisia = 🍝🍽🌞⛱🌊🥂*

[@jennylee8571]

I don't feel bad for them. California has already gone through this. We would go to jail if we harassed foreigners. Shame on Barcelona government for not protecting tourist like how America protects tourist.

[@carletonrutherford1799]

Shame on the Barcelona government for not protecting it's citizens. Americans are greedy for the money. European residents just want to be able to live comfortably.

[@Milestonemonger]

They complained there were no tourists during covid 😢 and now...

[@Russellviews]

It would never occur to me to take my grievances about America out on people visiting America.

[@olieolieolieolie1249]

check out vienna‘s city council‘s housing strategy… the city owns 70% of the housing (so I heard) giving it control of the rent level, preventing rip offs by landlords

[@karstenkailer4669]

@@olieolieolieolie1249 Vienna does a lot of things RIGHT!

[@wisehippo3072]

Vienna does a lot of things right, but it's not even close to 70%. It's about 24% of the housing. I hope that number is still correct.

[@olieolieolieolie1249]

@@wisehippo3072 I just looked it up 220000 Units equal to about 30% (could have done that before posting…sorry)

[@SpiceBoy7UK23]

They are doing this in many parts of Spain, including Mallorca. In Barcelona, they are banning Air B n B as well. The increases in rent and the lack of housing is the main reason this is happening. It’s been at least 2 years since they started doing this in Barcelona. They started doing this around the coastal part of the province and on the beaches 2 years ago.

[@user-ye2sm1gq7l]

Ok, but I hope they never leave their city on vacation again. Stay there forever.

[@MichelMawon4982]

How many countries around the world speak Spanish outside of Spain? How’d that happen? Did the Spanish just visit and appreciate? Though their complaints are understandable, the hypocrisy is not lost on me.

[@jamesbond1586]

At least they are better than Americans. Water guns, not real guns.

[@samukelomalusi7521]

Rich people problems always amaze me