More than 3,000 people gathered in Barcelona to protest against mass tourism. Demonstrations have already happened in the Canary Islands and Mallorca, but now they have reached Spain’s most visited city.

Over 150 organizations and social movements joined the protests, with some symbolically sealing off hotels and restaurant terraces. The protesters demanded actions to reduce tourism before the summer season, which is expected to break records in Barcelona and Catalonia. According to some protesters, the city should prioritize fairer economic models by decreasing tourism. Barcelona receives around 32 million visitors annually, many arriving on cruise ships.

The city council plans to increase the tourist tax to 4 euros per person from October. Additionally, they announced a plan to eliminate around 10,000 tourist flat licenses over the next five years to deal with the housing crisis and prioritize residential use over tourism. There is a global trend of cities combating the negative effects of mass tourism on local life.

Difficult words: mass tourism (the movement of a large number of organized tourists to popular holiday destinations), symbolically (in a way that represents something else), combat (to fight).