A foreign tourist was shocked after seeing graffiti left on the walls of buildings in Barcelona, a popular Spanish destination. However, not everyone considered the anti-tourist appeals incorrect. The girl shared her impressions on her TikTok account.
“Barcelona is so hospitable,” the traveler captioned her video sarcastically. The footage shows a lot of graffiti in the whole city with the inscription “Tourists go home”, that is, “Tourists, go home”, although the rougher translation “Tourists, get off here” is also used. On one of the doors of the building, the inscription “Tourism is killing the city” was displayed.
The video has been viewed more than 1.2 million times, and some users agreed with the author of the video. “If there was no tourism in Barcelona, the economy would face difficulties”, “I am from Spain and I understand that tourists can sometimes be a problem, but they are the only thing that supports the stability of our economy”, – users supported the indignation of the traveler.
But the majority of people took the side of the locals, announcing a boycott of tourism. According to them, due to the avalanche of vacationers who rent housing daily, housing rent for those who live there is significantly more expensive. “I have seen the behavior of many tourists on holiday in Barcelona and other Spanish cities… I can understand the local indignation”, “Tourists have a huge impact on the housing crisis, for example. Many houses for residents have been converted for Airbnb (accommodation rental service) and hostels,” some reported.
In the past, residents of other tourist hotspots such as Lisbon (Portugal), Cornwall, and Edinburgh, UK) have expressed similar views about unnerving overtourism. One of them wrote: “I totally get it. I’ve lived in Edinburgh most of my life, the tourists are draining what’s here.’ Another Brit said: “Don’t blame them, I have to move out of my London house next month because it’s being turned into an Airbnb.”