Barcelona protests

[Roupa2]

Protesters in Barcelona attempting to limit tourism are giving me cause to wonder about a future cruise stop there.

While I am sympathetic to their cause, hopefully we won’t need to make a change/cancel !!

I wonder about possible policy changes similar to those made in Venice and Amsterdam etc.regarding over tourism.

[gorda]

Have a cruise leaving in November and am planning 3 days in Barcelona, staying in tourist area. Will review my days there closer to cruise date. 80 years old traveling solo. Maybe fly into Barcelona the day before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[marazul]

@gorda

Don't change your plans. The demonstrations happened last Saturday in La Barceloneta district. It could happen again sporadically this summer. Extremely unlikely to happen in November which is low tourist season. 

[sverigecruiser]

What does the locals want us to do?

 

Do they really want us to stay away or is it just that they want us to spend our money on other things and/or in other places?

 

I'm not afraid but has no interest in being confronted by the locals when I'm on vacation.

 

I like Barcelona but if the locals don't want me there I just have to go straight from the airport to the port if i shall embark there.

[edinburgher]

16 hours ago, Roupa2 said:

wonder about possible policy changes similar to those made in Venice and Amsterdam etc.regarding over tourism.

I expect cruise ships will be the next target. Some cruiselines have already switched from Barcelona to Tarragona not only as a port of call, but also for changeovers.And la Spezia is much more used now than it used to be, I think because Livorno was too busy. and Princess have been voluntarily dropping Santorini on some sailings this summer due to the number of ships there in any one day and the disappointing and somewhat negative experience this brings to passengers. I personally think  there are too many cruise ships chasing the same ports.

4 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

Do they really want us to stay away or is it just that they want us to spend our money on other things and/or in other places?

This follows very recent protests in Malaga, Palma Mallorca and Tenerife. I  think the biggest issue for locals in Barcelona  is that the number of licensed short term tourist apartments such as Airbnb, VRBO etc currently stands at around 10,000 which means an acute shortage of affordable longer term rentals for locals especially those who work in the city.  The mayor is to revoke ALL short term licences in the coming years.  I posted about this a few days ago and advised booking only a hotel "just in case" Here is the post.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/3014935-caution-advised-if-booking-accommodation-in-barcelona-in-the-near-future/

 

Edited July 9 by edinburgher

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

I  think the biggest issue for locals in Barcelona  is that the number of licensed short term tourist apartments such as Airbnb, VRBO etc currently stands at around 10,000 which means an acute shortage of affordable longer term rentals for locals especially those who work in the city.  The mayor is to revoke ALL short term licences in the coming years.  I posted about this a few days ago and advised booking only a hotel "just in case" Here is the post.

 

I should never book a apartment when I'm on vacation. I always book a hotel but how can the locals know that before they confront me?

[edinburgher]

59 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

but how can the locals know that before they confront me?

They won't! Carry an umbrella?😉

Edited July 9 by edinburgher

[sverigecruiser]

1 hour ago, edinburgher said:

They won't! Carry an umbrella?😉

 

I don't like it because I like Barcelona but it will save me lots of money if I go straight from the airport to the port instead of spending a few days in Barcelona before the cruise!

[marazul]

This is a good article on the conflict:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/07/08/travel/barcelona-tourism-protests-scli-intl/index.html

 

Here is the Facebook page of the organizers.  Most of it is in English.  They post when and where the next demonstration will take place.  There isn't one scheduled at this moment.

https://www.facebook.com/AssBarrisDT

 

This is one of the articles enumerating their reasons for the protests.  Use google translate:

https://www.elcritic.cat/opinio/onze-motius-per-al-decreixement-turistic-208144

 

And these are their demands. Also use google translate:

https://assembleabarris.wordpress.com/2024/07/06/manifest-posemlimitsalturisme-a-la-manifestacio-6j/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR2OUsQqgKCnJUMtNpqjQ4BjjM9n74Uh_5H_2CgVp8Mk3yXxn60eafVR-pI_aem_6eoWLkWst9aGWgzhJZgNcw
 

 

 

[kctwinmommy]

I was just reading about this. I understand the anger over housing prices, but again, how many of the locals spend money to visit some of these places? It's always that fine balance of a double edged sword. This was the article I was reading. It does mention cruise lines. In 2000 there were barely 500,000 visitors from cruise ships. And now, it's 2.2 million!

 

https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/business/money-report/barcelona-protesters-throw-items-and-spray-travelers-with-water-while-shouting-tourists-go-home/3484174/?_osource=SocialFlowFB_CHBrand&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3EVHBWXjd0VJBitoF5oLYLpYqQOS74lt4yduWQH1Q9YwUgkR9bbvOH7og_aem_GTJA2bR2wVEx1_fPt-1wMA

[edinburgher]

4 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

it will save me lots of money if I go straight from the airport to the port instead of spending a few days in Barcelona before the cruise!

Not usually a good idea to arrive on the day of departure as any delays along the way could cause you to miss your ship departure.

 

You could consider a less risky option  of arriving even one day ahead of time and staying elsewhere, but close to Barcelona, somewhere like Sitges eg as it has good and frequent connections to Barcelona.

Edited July 9 by edinburgher

[sverigecruiser]

6 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

Not usually a good idea to arrive on the day of departure as any delays along the way could cause you to miss your ship departure.

 

You could consider arriving even one day ahead of time and stay elsewhere, but close to Barcelona, somewhere like Sitges eg as it has good and frequent connections to Barcelona.

 

I will book a hotel at the airport.

 

I should never arrive on embarkation day because I want to be the first to board!

Edited July 9 by sverigecruiser

[edinburgher]

1 minute ago, sverigecruiser said:

 

I will book a hotel at the airport.

The beach resort of Sitges would be a much nicer place to stay than an airport hotel😀

[Roupa2]

To limit the chance of “missing the boat”, I prefer to plan to arrive at a departure port 2-3 nights ahead.  It’s worth it in order to adjust to time zones if needed, and also experience the port city in a little depth.  It all figures into the total cost of a trip when budgeting.   Hopefully Barcelona will be a good experience!

[sverigecruiser]

8 hours ago, edinburgher said:

The beach resort of Sitges would be a much nicer place to stay than an airport hotel😀

 

For me it's probably not worth going there for just one night

[sverigecruiser]

7 hours ago, Roupa2 said:

To limit the chance of “missing the boat”, I prefer to plan to arrive at a departure port 2-3 nights ahead.  It’s worth it in order to adjust to time zones if needed, and also experience the port city in a little depth.  It all figures into the total cost of a trip when budgeting.   Hopefully Barcelona will be a good experience!

 

I agree but if the locals don't want me there I rather spend my money on something else.

[ollienbertsmum]

I think it is a question of looking for other places to stay that are nearby.  I get what the frustration is for locals.  If they cannot afford to live in these popular tourist destinations then there will be no one to work there.  If the traffic is terrible then they can’t get to work.  
 

I wish I had not got used to staying in Airbnb s.  So much easier when you have a small group AND when you are trying to carry less luggage.  Perhaps hotels will adapt to provide more cooking, washing and hanging out facilities.  

[sverigecruiser]

 

I understand the locals at small places but Barcelona is a big city. They should be ably to handle tourists.

 

I think that Barcelona is the best place to embark a cruise on the Mediterranean but if the locals prefer that I don't go there a will just go straight from the airport to the port.

[edinburgher]

5 hours ago, sverigecruiser said:

For me it's probably not worth going there for just one night

There are direct coaches on a frequent timetable which run direct from T1 at  EL Prat to Sitges.  There are also trains but these take longer as a station change is needed.

 

To venture into the city, trains from Sitges to Barcelona take around 30 minutes.

[sverigecruiser]

36 minutes ago, edinburgher said:

There are direct coaches on a frequent timetable which run direct from T1 at  EL Prat to Sitges.  There are also trains but these take longer as a station change is needed.

 

To venture into the city, trains from Sitges to Barcelona take around 30 minutes.

 

If the locals in Barcelona don't want tourists and people then go to Sitges instead, how long will it take before the protests starts there?

 

It looks nice but before a cruise I will probably do the easy thing at just stay at the airport. We land in the afternoon and want to be at the port around 10 am so going to Sitges is probably not worth it for us.

[edinburgher]

33 minutes ago, sverigecruiser said:

We land in the afternoon and want to be at the port around 10 am so going to Sitges is probably not worth it for us.

Probably not with such little time available, but some others reading this thread might want to consider the idea.

 

Instead of spending another week in Barcelona, on our most recent visit we split the week between Sitges and Tarragona, both of which were new to us, only venturing into Barcelona once from Sitges. and we travelled to Sitges using the coach transfer from El Prat.

 

There are also coach transfers between El Prat and Tarragona, but these take longer as Tarragona is further from Barcelona than Sitges, and there is less frequency.

Edited July 10 by edinburgher

[optimusprime82]

Arriving on 08/29/24 for our 09/01/24 VV sailing. I'll keep an eye on things but I'm not overly concerned with the protestors. I sympathize with their housing issues, which is why I'm glad we booked a hotel instead of a rental property. We don't plan on doing too many typical touristy things aside from visiting Sagrada Família. Otherwise, we want to walk, explore, and people watch - hopefully that means we won't stick out too much.

[Milhouse]

I'm a bit concerned as our August cruise stops in many cities that have had protests and then ends in Barcelona.  However, I'm not concerned about aggressive protests per se but as a tourist, I don't want to feel unwelcome either.  

 

I do agree that non-hotel short term rentals contributes to local housing issues as it is also an issue here in Vancouver.  Different ways to address it though IMO.  

And at the risk of making travel less affordable, there probably needs to be more taxation on tourism somehow so that the benefits can be more widely shared.  

[RealNorwegianCruiser]

If the lovely people of Barcelona and other parts of Spain doesnt want us there, then we will use our money elsewhere. We will respect their wishes!

 

Life is too short to feel unwanted! We been to Barcelona, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and other places in Spain several times. Now we take the signal from the locals, and will book our 3 next vacations in Egypt, Albania and USA instead.

[Harters]

I think it's fair to say that some Spaniards do not want some tourists in their locality. That's different from it being all Spaniards want rid of all tourists. I'll be happily travelling to Tenerife for three weeks in January, as we do every year. And, probably, be visiting Mallorca for a fortnight again autumn of next year, as autumn last year. 

Edited July 27 by Harters