Protesters in Barcelona have sprayed visitors with water as part of a demonstration against mass tourism.

Demonstrators marching through areas popular with tourists on Saturday chanted “tourists go home” and squirted them with water pistols, while others carried signs with slogans including “Barcelona is not for sale.”

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).

  • jwiggler@sh.itjust.works
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    5 months ago

    I’m going to Barcelona this week on a family trip. We’re staying in an AirBnb for a day. I think they’ve got a legitimate cause to spray people like me, who pretty much across the board don’t realize how much their privilege hurts regular working people.

    • vxx@lemmy.world
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      5 months ago

      Take a hotel next time. AirBNB is cancer to citizens looking for an appartement.

      • jwiggler@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        I didn’t plan the trip myself, and I think there was some reason or another they chose AirBNB instead of a hotel. But yeah, if I ever do a trip like this again (unlikely), fuck an AirBNB

        • vxx@lemmy.world
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          5 months ago

          Sorry, I didn’t try to put shade on you, as you clearly aren’t senseless to the situation, I was just going to point out what the actual issue is with tourists.

          • jwiggler@sh.itjust.works
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            5 months ago

            No no you’re good, I didn’t take it that way. I think saying “next time” instead of “you should have” is a good way to help people realize that what they are doing might be destructive, without condemning them to the eternal pits of hell, so I appreciate you saying it that way.

          • jwiggler@sh.itjust.works
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            5 months ago

            I wasn’t sure whether hotels had already been booked or whether they cheaped out, that’s why I worded it like that. Could be.

    • Murvel@lemm.ee
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      5 months ago

      Well, don’t go then, solves everyone’s problems if that’s how you feel…

      • jwiggler@sh.itjust.works
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        5 months ago

        Would you cancel a trip with your family that was already booked, that your mom completely planned out each activity in depth, that you already paid for, that you’ve been looking forward to, collectively, for over a year, because you found out you’d be contributing to a systemic problem for a week day?

        You just might be a better person than me, at the end of the day.

        • Murvel@lemm.ee
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          5 months ago

          Yes, if I felt strongly about I would, but I don’t.

          And they have no right to throw water at you, so quit apologizing for yourself.