Protesters are once again spraying hapless tourists in Barcelona as they make their point that mass tourism and the resulting rental market (ie, Airbnb) are ruining their city and causing a housing crunch.
Protesters in Barcelona blew whistles and held up homemade signs saying “One more tourist, one less resident.”
They stuck stickers saying “Citizen Self-Defense,” in Catalan, and “Tourist Go Home,” in English, with a drawing of a water gun on the doors of hotels and hostels.
Last month, in response to the groundswell of resistance, Spain’s government ordered Airbnb to remove 66,000 holiday rentals from the platform that it said had violated local rules.
After the crackdown on Airbnb, Spain’s Consumer Rights Minister stated that the tourism sector “cannot jeopardize the constitutional rights of the Spanish people,” which enshrines their right to housing and well-being.
One protestor explained: “The squirt guns are to bother the tourists a bit. This is a fight to give Barcelona back to its residents.”