Barcelona Is Looking Forward For Tourism To Return

The effects of months without tourists are palpable all across Barcelona: On one of the city's busiest tourist corridors, a number of stores have closed their doors. While city officials are urging tourists to return, critics of mass tourism are finding it impossible to be heard.

Pere Marine, one of the city's most outspoken opponents of mass tourism, has resided in this neighborhood for a long time. Marine is a member of the city's influential residents' association, which has staged several protests. "We want hotels to be converted into social housing," Marine explains. This would imply not only fewer places for tourists to stay, but it would also help to address Barcelona's housing shortage.

Despite the city's rigorous regulations governing the establishment of new tourist hotels, there are no plans to limit bed capacity at this time. He does say, though, that attempts are being made to modernize hotels, which will result in increased charges. The hotel association's Manuel Casals is uninterested in lowering the number of tourists. Instead, he believes that more efforts should be made to attract business travelers who spend more money and do not jam the historic center's streets.