Tourists in Spain sprayed with water guns in latest 'go home' protest
Tourists in Spain enjoying a day out across Barcelona found themselves being sprayed with water pistols in the latest 'go home' protest to hit the country and its islands.
Recent months have been marred with a flurry of protests against tourism right across Spain.
From Tenerife in the Canary Islands over to the Balearic island of Majorca in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Spanish natives are uniting against what they call 'bad tourism', with some locals even worried that their life as they know it is 'facing collapse' due to what they claim are the negative effects of tourism.
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Now, images from the weekend show Spain's second city and the capital of Catalonia overwhelmed by thousands of protestors telling tourists in Barcelona to 'go home'.
Images from Saturday (6 July) show huge swathes of people walking through the city centre, claiming tourism has 'enormous negative impacts, in labour, social and environmental terms'.
Among the protestors were individuals with water guns. Filled to the brim, they opened fire on tourists sitting at restaurant tables enjoying a spot of al fresco dining.
And then when staff tried to get involved, they also found themselves a little on the wet side.
Due to the crowds, guests were then stopped from leaving their hotels and restaurants with protestors using tape to seal the entrances to the buildings.
The purpose of the protest, which had almost 3,000 people in attendance, was to put pressure on authorities when it came to the high cost of living in Spain. They claim reducing annual footfall will help focus attention back on those who live in the country.
And protesters have a point. Rents are up 68 percent in the last decade, with the cost of buying a house up 38 percent.
Going forward, Barcelona’s mayor, Jaume Collboni, has promised to ban tourists from renting holiday apartments by 2028 to try and tackle the housing crisis in the city.
He said: "We are confronting what we believe is Barcelona’s largest problem."
The mayor himself said that licences for short-term rentals will be scrapped, which could free up to 10,101 apartments across the major city.
It comes after recent action on the Spanish island of Majorca where locals have plotted to 'reclaim' one of the most gorgeous beaches on the planet due to it being targeted by tourists.
The beach in question is Calo des Moro, which is described as 'one of the last paradises of Majorca'.
It's bespoke given it is absolutely tiny and found in a small cove tucked in from the main seafront. Boasting shallow, turquoise water, it is truly stunning.
But protest group Platform Mallorca Platja Tour [Majorcan Beach Tour] now wants to 'squeeze' out tourists from the area, saying the beach has become a symbol of 'massification'.
"It’s full of Instagrammers who go just to take their picture," one protestor said.
Topics: Europe, Travel, Environment, Money, Cost of Living, Holiday, World News
Tom Earnshaw