Barcelona's plans to manage tourism angers residents
Barcelona residents are already angry about overtourism in the Spanish city. Now they're questioning the city's decision to host the America's Cup in peak summer tourist season.
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00:00Cathedral, beach, Rambla. Millions of people in one place. Tourism is becoming a challenge.
00:07Not far from Barcelona, a beach promenade is being removed to make sure that tourists keep coming.
00:14How does it all fit together?
00:16The answer is, it's complicated. Because tourism is also complicated.
00:21On the one hand, there are crowds.
00:2320 million people visit Barcelona's Sagrada Familia Cathedral and the Market Hall every year.
00:29They're often crowded. The city now wants to make improvements and is spending millions.
00:35Every city is currently trying to manage tourism. Is it positive for the city?
00:41Yes, but you do reach a point where it no longer brings any added value.
00:47The next morning I meet Esther Llorquera, who lives in the Barceloneta district, right next to the port.
00:54She's fed up with tourism. Her opinion on the town hall's plans is very clear.
01:02In other words, Barcelona will continue to be overcrowded.
01:06We need less tourism, but done well and purposefully.
01:09Not just investing millions in public money on something that turns out to be ineffective.
01:16The local resident is furious, because the city is also spending millions to host the America's Cup sailing regatta.
01:23City Hall believes this kind of event is right for Barcelona.
01:27But it will bring even more tourists. And not just tourists.
01:34A few weeks ago I got this letter from Engel and Furcas,
01:37saying that a lot of buyers will be coming to the city for the upcoming America's Cup.
01:43That means that it's closely linked to the problem of speculation that's plaguing this neighborhood.
01:52Eva Vidal and Juan Blaya are combating the illegal rental apartments in Barcelona.
01:58They are two of 27 inspectors.
02:01Their job is to find out whether there are short-term tourists living in apartments without a license.
02:07Nearly 10,000 have been shut down in recent years.
02:11It's tough work. Nobody opens the door at the first appointment.
02:17There are five apartments in this building that are under suspicion.
02:21Things become clear at the next door they visit.
02:28I need some information. I just want to talk to you.
02:31Is anyone living here or are you cleaning after someone moved out?
02:36Yes, that's… Well, I'm just here for the cleaning company. These apartments are for tourists.
02:42The wheels are finally starting to turn. It's a lengthy process. Nevertheless…
02:49It's been successful, especially with private landlords. If you catch them, they actually stop.
02:55But it's different with the large owners of 10, 15, 20, 60 apartments across Barcelona.
03:01They don't really mind the 60,000 euro fine because they can quickly recoup the money from the other apartments.
03:08The experts also consider limits on vacation rentals to be an effective approach,
03:13but at the same time there is a clear rejection of other tourism alternatives.
03:19All of these things need to be abolished,
03:22but we also have to be careful to make sure that changing this doesn't lead to elitism.
03:27Thinking that the solution lies in quality tourism, which is actually a euphemism for tourism for the wealthy.
03:35If more rich people come, it doesn't mean that tourism is better distributed,
03:39and there are not enough rich people for everyone.
03:45The main goal of the America's Cup is to make Barcelona attractive for wealthy tourists.
03:51Like local resident Esther, the geographer thinks the approach is wrong.
03:56This type of event will lead to a disastrous situation,
03:59which is part of the logic of creating events to attract wealthy tourists.
04:04The fact that more rich people come does not enrich the majority,
04:07but impoverishes us and creates more inequality.
04:12Tourism is complicated. It could have been slowed down this summer in Catalonia by a lack of water.
04:18Then it rained just in time.
04:20South of Barcelona, however, there is another example of how climate change can influence tourism over the long term.
04:30In Calafell, sand is being brought in for a lot of money to prepare the beach for the high season.
04:41We removed a plaza here that took up 800 meters of space on this beach.
04:46It's stretched to where the man with the umbrella is.
04:50There was no sand.
04:52We removed the concrete about two months ago, and we were able to create a new beach.
05:00More beach for summer tourists, thanks to less concrete.
05:04That was one step.
05:05Because storms keep washing away the beach in winter, tourists get less beach over the long term.
05:12The raw material for tourism is sand.
05:14This is where tourists come.
05:16This is where they rest.
05:17This is the main attraction, the main resource.
05:21Sand in a scenario like this one with climate change is a major challenge.
05:27The only natural sand reserve we have is these dunes.
05:34The Calafell model is considered an example of sustainability.
05:38The big difference to Barcelona, however, is that large numbers of tourists only come here at the height of summer.
05:45The rest of the time, residents and nature can relax.
05:48In Barcelona, the high season lasts all year round.
05:52That's why annoyed residents will also protest here, against the reviction and the America's Cup.