By Mae Dowling
Barcelona isn’t asking tourists to leave; it’s asking them to listen to locals on how to treat the city.
La Rambla, a famous street of Barcelona packed with pedestrians
In June 2025, groups of Barcelona residents walked through their local streets, spraying tourists seated at outdoor restaurants and cafes with water guns in protest of the strain mass tourism has placed on their daily lives. But residents say they aren’t against travelers altogether; rather, the full picture is more complicated than the coverage of the protests has insinuated. Instead, residents are opposed to an attitude toward tourism that treats their neighborhoods as the backdrop for a photo rather than a place people actually live.
The tension prompted the city to name its first commissioner for sustainable tourism, Jose Antonio Donaire, on June 23, 2025. The commissioner has said that Barcelona has “reached the maximum number of tourists it can accommodate,” according to The Guardian. City officials have since raised taxes on hotel stays, vacation rentals and cruise passengers, with additional increases under discussion.
For many residents, tourism has made the cost of living unsustainable. Barcelona’s tenants’ union, the Sindicat de Llogateres, formed in 2017 after residents found themselves priced out of their neighborhoods when landlords converted apartments into short-term vacation rentals. Co-founder Jaime Palomera said, “When we started [the Union], nobody talked about rent control. Nobody.” The union now organizes tenants building by building, encouraging locals to negotiate collectively with their landlords.
That history is part of why residents have strong opinions on how visitors should spend their time, and their money, in the city.
Local resident Jordi Luque Sanz suggests travelers skip the well-known landmarks in favor of neighborhoods “where everything is much more real,” pointing visitors toward areas like Sants and Poble Nou instead of the Gothic Quarter.
Local Ann-Marie Brannigan recommends planning a visit around one of the city’s neighborhood festivals.
“Every neighbourhood has two a year, with food and sardanas,” she said, referring to Catalonia’s traditional circle dance. She added that these smaller gatherings offer visitors a more genuine understanding of the city than the larger celebrations do.
Both guides also highlighted that everyday etiquette matters more to residents than visitors might expect. They suggested keeping shirts on away from the beach, avoiding loud behavior on residents' streets, avoiding public drinking, and learning some Catalan or Spanish phrases before arriving. Locals say these simple gestures show residents that visitors see Barcelona as a home rather than a stage.
When finding accommodations, residents advise booking licensed hotels or registered short-term rentals rather than informal listings. Unlicensed tourist apartments are directly connected to the shrinking supply of long-term housing that increases rents across the city. Travelers can also visit in the off-season and avoid weekend trips to reduce the pressure on Barcelona.
The residents who spoke publicly about the tourism issue did not frame it as a rejection of tourism itself, as Barcelona’s economy and culture have been influenced by visitors from around the world for a long time. What the locals ask for is a change in how the process works, requesting that travelers bring genuine curiosity and appreciation for the city these residents live in day to day.
Mae Dowling
Mae Dowling is a junior at George Washington University studying Philosophy and Public Affairs, with a minor in Journalism and Mass Communication. She is interested in the ways people, places, and cultures shape one another, and enjoys learning through new experiences and perspectives. When she’s not studying or writing, you’ll likely find her on a run, playing a card game, hiking, or grabbing a coffee!