The Barcelona Tourism Office has replaced its long-standing ‘Visit Barcelona’ slogan with ‘This is Barcelona’ in response to growing anti-tourism protests in the city.
The new motto, ‘This is Barcelona,’ will officially launch on August 22, coinciding with the first day of the America’s Cup preliminary regattas in the Catalan capital.
In 2009, the office unveiled ‘Visit Barcelona,’ which has now changed to end the city’s “general” promotion and visitor growth and focus instead on quality tourism rather than the number of visitors. The new slogan aims to highlight what “Barcelona is:” a city of traditions, sports, gastronomy, museums, and music festivals.
“A real and specific Barcelona, and not just a landscape,” said Mateu Hernández, general director of the Barcelona Tourism Board, speaking to The Catalan News in Barcelona.
Early in July, dozens of civil society groups organised a demonstration that saw around 3,000 people protest against overtourism in Barcelona. Some rally-goers even squirted water guns on visitors, which the hotel association considered unacceptable.
Under the slogan “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism!” protests demand measures to reduce tourism ahead of a summer season that is expected to break records in Catalonia. According to the latest data from the Statistical Institute of Catalonia, 2 million tourists arrived in Catalonia alone in May this year, an increase of 5.9 per cent from May of last year.
For Hernández, Barcelona would not have the cultural or gastronomical possibilities it currently has without qualified tourism. “The challenges Barcelona has are shared with other international cities such as Amsterdam and Vienna,” he added.
Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce guild has warned that tourism “cannot continue to have infinite growth” and asked for a slowdown in the number of visitors, with an “increase of prices and salaries,” said Joan Ramon Rovira, head of the financial studies cabinet. Experts say there have been some “signals” of a transformation of tourism in Barcelona, as there has been a slight increase in the number of luxury bookings in five- and four-star hotels compared to the previous year.
Contrary to the overtourism protests, almost 75 per cent of Catalans, three out of four, are in favour of continuing to promote tourism in Catalonia, according to a general survey by the CEO of a Catalan government-owned survey agency published a fortnight ago. Meanwhile, half of those questioned consider that tourism limits activities and the public space available for locals. And 46 per cent of locals say that tourism is reaching its limit in their county and area.
The survey was conducted between March 12 and May 19. Of those backing continuing to promote tourism, 24 per cent are very much in favour, and 50 per cent agree. However, 39 per cent are against it or very much against it.
Thousands of demonstrators also took to the streets of the Balearic Islands recently to protest against overtourism and its impact on local communities. Major protests occurred in Menorca, Mallorca, and Ibiza, with the central issue being the strain that holiday rentals are putting on the housing market, making it increasingly unaffordable for residents.
Karryon writer Kirstie Bedford just returned from Barcelona. Here’s what she experienced and her tips on navigating the summer crowds. Read here.
