Demonstrators march during a protest against mass tourism on Barcelona’s Las Ramblas alley. (Image: AFP)
Thousands of Barcelona residents protested against mass tourism and said that excess tourism has made the Catalan city unlivable.
Thousands of protesters marched Saturday in Barcelona to denounce mass tourism and its effect on Spain’s most visited city, the latest in a series of similar marches in the country.
Under the slogan “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism”, some 2,800 people — according to police — marched along a waterfront district of Barcelona to demand a new economic model that would reduce the millions of tourists that visit every year.
“I have nothing against tourism, but here in Barcelona we are suffering from an excess of tourism that has made our city unliveable,” said Jordi Guiu, a 70-year-old sociologist.
With banners saying “Reduce tourism now!”, the protesters chanted slogans such as “Tourists out of our neighbourhood”, stopping in front…