Are tourists welcome in Barcelona?

Are tourists welcome in Barcelona?


Updated May 2024

Yes. Tourists are very welcome in Barcelona. More than welcome. Despite what you might read in the international press about "overtourism" and tourists not being welcome in Barcelona, they are more than welcome in Barcelona by a majority of the city's residents. Tourism is one of Spain's main business areas and creates employment for many families in Spain.

Tourists also bring smiles, joy and happiness with them which is always welcome in Barcelona and in any city. You might see some grafitti about telling tourists to "go home" but these sentiments represent a very tiny minority of Barcelona residents.

One must not forget that residents of Barcelona are tourists themselves. Some of the favourites tourist destinations for Barcelona residents are London, Rome, New York and Istanbul among many others. One can hardly visit these cities and then come back and complain about tourists visiting ones own city.

Barcelona is lucky to receive many tourists, but to Barcelona residents who think there are too many, we would like to remind you that you cannot blame the tourists. Did tourists build the hotels, did tourists close the old shops and open Burger Kings, did tourists force you to rent your rooms and apartments on AirBnB. No. We Spanish and Catalans did this. 

You must not blame tourists. You can blame the politicians for allowing too many hotels, or blame yourselves for opening Starbucks and Costa coffee shops. If you want Barcelona to have fewer tourists, then you are in a free country and you can vote for parties that want to regulate tourism. But don't blame tourists who are on vacation and who want to experience our city and culture.

To the tourists, we say thank you. And remind you that if you can if you can be considerate, polite and appreciative tourist who helps look after Barcelona and this part of Spain, then you can call yourself a a good tourist and will always be welcome. 

Thank you for visiting Barcelona.

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Last Updated on Thursday, 09 May 2024 08:44
 

Saturday, 21 December 2024


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