From street protests to an Airbnb ban, all the ways Barcelona said no to tourists in 2024

25.12.2024 - 04:07 / euronews.com / Jaume Collboni

The writing was on the wall - literally. Last year, graffiti appeared in Barcelona telling tourists, “We spit in your beer. Cheers!” Another message read: “Your luxury trip - my daily misery”. 

But in 2024 the Spanish city’s pushback against overtourism reached new heights.

With more than 15 million tourists visiting Barcelona every year - drawn by its stunning blend of art and architecture, top-tier football team, and beachside location - locals are feeling the strain. 

It’s not the only place in Europe calling timeout on too many tourists. Italy, for example, is also dealing with the ‘plague’ of overtourism, and cruise ships are facing new restrictions at many ports.

Here we review a turbulent year in tourism for Spain’s most visited city -and look ahead to what’s next in 2025.

Back in June, Barcelona City Council announced a radical plan to rid the city of tourist flat licences by 2028. 

Barcelona has not actually granted new licences since 2014 when it froze supply at nearly 10,000 units. But that hasn’t fixed the issue of unaffordable rent for locals. 

"We want to guarantee the right to live in Barcelona and deal effectively with the housing crisis we have been suffering for years," said mayor Jaume Collboni.

The tourism industry hit back, naturally. The Barcelona Association of Tourist Apartments (APARTUR) says these Airbnb-style apartments only make up a fraction of the city's housing. It warns that restricting licences could increase the number of illegal apartments and potentially cause 40 per cent of the city's tourism to disappear.

There are ongoing legal challenges over the plan. The European Holiday Home Association filed a complaint with the European Commission (EC) in November, claiming it breaches the provision of services directive - something the EC has questioned itself.

The overtourism debate got particularly heated in July, when around 3,000 people took to the streets, shouting "tourists go home" and spraying them with water. 

Some 150 collectives, organisations and social movements were involved in the demonstration, which followed similar actions in the Canary Islands and Mallorca. Hotel and restaurant entrances were also symbolically closed off.

"We want the city's economic model to prioritise other much fairer economies. And for that, we consider that we have to decrease tourism,” explained Martí Cusó, spokesperson for the Association of Neighbours of the Gothic Quarter and an activist against tourist overcrowding.

Further protests against high rents in November - though less specifically targeted at tourists - also identified overtourism as a driver.

In a bid to increase “quality tourism”, the city council has been swiftly upping its tourist tax: a levy that goes towards cleaning,