Tourist Trouble in Barcelona?

[Rfoderaro]

We will be sailing on the MSC Grandiosa in a few weeks. We will be boarding and disembarking in Barcelona, Spain.

I have seen a number of news reports of tourists being harassed in Barcelona because of overtourism. Nothing too serious, but definitely made to feel uncomfortable. I can understand the issue if you happen to live in the area. Many of the popular areas in Europe are also overcrowded. But our tour is booked. So we will be headed to Barcelona.

Has anyone on the board experienced any of these issues recently in Barcelona? Any tips?

[CruisingFox27]

We were on Grandiosa at the end of June and docked in Barcelona. We didn't see or experience any issues. 

[graphicguy]

18 hours ago, Rfoderaro said:

We will be sailing on the MSC Grandiosa in a few weeks. We will be boarding and disembarking in Barcelona, Spain.

I have seen a number of news reports of tourists being harassed in Barcelona because of overtourism. Nothing too serious, but definitely made to feel uncomfortable. I can understand the issue if you happen to live in the area. Many of the popular areas in Europe are also overcrowded. But our tour is booked. So we will be headed to Barcelona.

Has anyone on the board experienced any of these issues recently in Barcelona? Any tips?

Which news reports?  I've been in Barcelona at least once per year over the last 3-4 years.  Never even remotely seen any harassment...at all!

 

Now, I personally saw pick pockets in Rome around the Coliseum.   But, if you are vigilant and don't fall for the perps' attempts at distraction, you'll be fine.

[MonsterJoe]

15 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Which news reports?  I've been in Barcelona at least once per year over the last 3-4 years.  Never even remotely seen any harassment...at all!

 

Now, I personally saw pick pockets in Rome around the Coliseum.   But, if you are vigilant and don't fall for the perps' attempts at distraction, you'll be fine.

https://fortune.com/europe/2024/07/17/europe-overtourism-water-pistols-barcelona-hunger-strikes-spain-cruise-ships-avoid-european-hotspots-passengers-not-well-treated/

[graphicguy]

I do know NCL is looking to replace the Barcelona port because of the VAT rule changes Spain implemented.  Always felt safe, though!

[CruisingFox27]

A number of Spanish holiday resorts had organised protests/rally type events earlier this month concerning the impact of tourism. 

It's not a daily event which will impact all visitors. 

[P2l]

We're also heading to Barcelona shortly for a couple of nights before embarking World Europa. I'm hoping it's just the media blowing things out of proportion.

[mnpurple]

I noticed a protest was held in Mallorca over the weekend. We have a Celebrity cruise booked in March ending in Barcelona and were planning to travel through Spain and Portugal. The cruise originally had a stop in Valencia, which was changed to Palma de Mallorca. I just noticed that is no longer showing. 

 

I guess I'll have to pay attention to what's happening. Lots of other places to go.

[Nunagoras]

No big worries to say the least and I lived there in Barcelona back in the day when I was a kid. The main city is very safe and clean, actually far better than my own Lisbon here in Portugal to say the least... Sometimes you might have some strikes, or political protests with a large police contingent near them, but that's it. Spain is an European Union member, so there are no above the normal events expected to happen there.

 

Of course and as is usual just on every other big urban area, please take care of your belongings, especially on the most crowded areas where the pickpockets use to be within the multitude. In Barcelona's case that is more prevalent in 3 areas: The Cathedral; the Sagrada Familia Church, and very especially the Las Ramblas neighborhood from Christopher Columbus square to Catalonia Plaza. Other than that no special worries. Its a safe city currently coupled with a quite high local life quality.

[mnpurple]

@Nunagoras Thanks for your input. You make very good points. We've had spent a day in Barcelona a few years ago and our guide definitely stressed being careful in many areas of pick pockets. Obviously, a concern anywhere with a lot of tourists. 

 

I planned to go to Menorca a few days after our cruise disembarks in Barcelona. It will be off-season, being in March, so hoping that isn't a terrible idea. Then working our way West (I think, toward Portugal) and to Velencia, Malaga and into Portugal in the South, up to Lisbon, then ending in Porto.

[Nunagoras]

22 hours ago, mnpurple said:

@Nunagoras Thanks for your input. You make very good points. We've had spent a day in Barcelona a few years ago and our guide definitely stressed being careful in many areas of pick pockets. Obviously, a concern anywhere with a lot of tourists. 

 

I planned to go to Menorca a few days after our cruise disembarks in Barcelona. It will be off-season, being in March, so hoping that isn't a terrible idea. Then working our way West (I think, toward Portugal) and to Velencia, Malaga and into Portugal in the South, up to Lisbon, then ending in Porto. Then, please, pick the "Intercidades / Alfa Pendular" train services down to Lisbon once you have far more flights back to the US than on Porto!... Be welcome here!... And have a wonderful day!

 

[Penfold77]

My best tip is to avoid the super touristy spots during peak hours. Try to explore the less crowded areas or visit popular sites early in the morning or later in the evening. 

[perakcruiser]

On 7/23/2024 at 4:40 AM, Nunagoras said:

No big worries to say the least and I lived there in Barcelona back in the day when I was a kid. The main city is very safe and clean, actually far better than my own Lisbon here in Portugal to say the least...

I know both cities since my first interrail trip in Europe decades ago. I think this has changed dramatically and nowadays Lisbon is more safe than Barcelona. Which is cleaner but I prefer safer. 

 

Those protesters in Barcelona need to understand that their welfare cheque is mainly paid by the tourists visiting their "overtouristed" city 😄

 

[steamboats]

These are organised protests. It´s not that anyone gets bullied walking on the street. So avoid the official protesters and you´re fine.

 

There are protests all over Spain, Barcelona, Palma, Malaga... All those cities have their major income from tourists. It´s just too much and the locals don´t find any housing anymore as the prices are skyrocketing. Santorini just declared a "lock down" because of 17 K cruise ship passengers on a single day. Locals should stay at home. In Sweden the island of Gotland is protesting against overtourism.

 

It´s not a new thing... Overtourism is a topic for more than 20 years now.

 

steamboats

[Nunagoras]

13 hours ago, steamboats said:

These are organised protests. It´s not that anyone gets bullied walking on the street. So avoid the official protesters and you´re fine.

 

There are protests all over Spain, Barcelona, Palma, Malaga... All those cities have their major income from tourists. It´s just too much and the locals don´t find any housing anymore as the prices are skyrocketing. Santorini just declared a "lock down" because of 17 K cruise ship passengers on a single day. Locals should stay at home. In Sweden the island of Gotland is protesting against overtourism.

 

It´s not a new thing... Overtourism is a topic for more than 20 years now.

 

steamboats

Yeah, that's it. And sadly it's not only Spain, it is global. We have our own protests as well here in Lisbon and most not tourism related. Avoid the protesters and all will be fine!

[P2l]

In Barcelona right now and there’s no sign of anti-tourist sentiment. My guess is it’s largely the media peddling click bait “news”. And since we’re all profiled by Google and Facebook as having shown interest in cruising/cruise destinations, we’ll get targeted for those stories more. 
 

What you might need to know however: It’s swelteringly hot but the beer is cold 🫠🍺

[GreenFamily]

The anti-tourism protests are directed at tourists who stay at airbnbs. Foreign investors bought up most of the properties in the beach and tourist areas all over Spain, to be used as tourist rentals, limiting supply and driving up prices for local residents. Their anger is misdirected. Tourists are necessary for tourist economies to thrive. For example, when Hawaii locked down for the Covid pandemic, unemployment soared to 38 percent! The blame should be directed at the government. I noticed that airbnbs in Greece are locally owned. The price are reasonable and there’s little anti-tourism sentiment. I also noticed this in southern France. 

[GreenFamily]

9 minutes ago, GreenFamily said:

The anti-tourism protests are directed at tourists who stay at airbnbs. Foreign investors bought up most of the properties in the beach and tourist areas all over Spain, to be used as tourist rentals, limiting supply and driving up prices for local residents. Their anger is misdirected. Tourists are necessary for tourist economies to thrive. For example, when Hawaii locked down for the Covid pandemic, unemployment soared to 38 percent! The blame should be directed at the government. I noticed that airbnbs in Greece are locally owned. The price are reasonable and there’s little anti-tourism sentiment. I also noticed this in southern France. 

I am from Hawaii and used to work for the state legislature. Hawaii’s politicians are owned by the hotel industry (trust me, I worked for one). Most of Hawaii bans short term rentals like airbnbs. The owners get around the rules by renting out for short term but blocking reservations for the whole month. The reason Hawaii bans short term rentals has nothing to do with housing prices for local residents but because the hotel lobby is so powerful and they don’t want the competition. Most of the tourist dollars go to these conglomerates, not local people. The pay is very low. Hawaii has no real industry so it’s a difficult place to raise a family. It has been this way for at least 50 years.

 

Again, the Spanish protestors have good reasons to be angry, but it’s misdirected. They should be mad at their government, and vote accordingly, not tourists who pay their bills. 

[MyriamS]

13 hours ago, GreenFamily said:

I am from Hawaii and used to work for the state legislature. Hawaii’s politicians are owned by the hotel industry (trust me, I worked for one). Most of Hawaii bans short term rentals like airbnbs. The owners get around the rules by renting out for short term but blocking reservations for the whole month. The reason Hawaii bans short term rentals has nothing to do with housing prices for local residents but because the hotel lobby is so powerful and they don’t want the competition. Most of the tourist dollars go to these conglomerates, not local people. The pay is very low. Hawaii has no real industry so it’s a difficult place to raise a family. It has been this way for at least 50 years.

 

Again, the Spanish protestors have good reasons to be angry, but it’s misdirected. They should be mad at their government, and vote accordingly, not tourists who pay their bills. 

Thanks for this. I met a friend from Barcelona recently and she defended the protestors throwing water at tourists, because she is incredibly pissed at Airbnbs. I told her that tourists do not control local laws, the only thing they can do is not come to your city which decreases tourism revenue for locals. 

 

I visited Hawaii recently and I was shocked by the sheer lack of accomodation for tourists. For budget travellers, there are almost no hostels/ regular hotels outside of Honolulu, only big names resorts with exorbitant prices per night. We stayed in the rare "budget" places we could find and it was very uncomfortable - due to the old, shoddy buildings - and still very expensive. I guess locals must live in pretty poor accomodation, with ultra luxe resorts on their doorsteps. Despite the beauty of the islands I wouldn't come back.

[steve thfc]

The leftist mayor Ana Colau is gone.

 

The bar owners, restaurants want tourists. Only people complaining are luanatics.

[Travelling2Some]

We were in Barcelona in May and did not see any protests. 

Edited Friday at 04:29 AM by Travelling2Some