A travel writer who recently spent time in Barcelona has spoken out about how she was greeted with ‘go home’ graffiti in the popular European holiday spot
A holidaymaker has opened up about the unwelcome reception she got in Barcelona, despite the city’s fame for its lively culture, scrumptious food, stunning architecture, and a rich sporting legacy. Barcelona is a bucket-list spot for many travellers, but it seems the locals are getting tired of playing host, with tourist numbers hitting over 26 million a year, dwarfing the local population of just 1.6 million.
Barri, a travel blogger who runs the @Worktravelbalance TikTok account, opened up about her experience to her 10,000 followers, admitting she was lured to the Catalan capital by its renowned “happy vibe”. But instead of warm welcomes, she was met with a barrage of ‘tourists go home’ graffiti.
“Everywhere you look, everywhere you go…there’s a tourists go home sign,” she said. The anti-tourist mood, highlighted by the spray-painted messages, probably comes from last summer’s protests that saw over 3,000 locals hit the streets.
The anti-tourist sentiment, as evidenced by the graffiti, likely stems from protests last summer, which at one point drew a crowd of more 3,000 residents. These protests led to actions such as squirting water pistols at visitors, taping hotel doors shut, and waving ‘tourists go home’ signs at holidaymakers.
Despite their best efforts, it looks like the the locals’ actions may have been in vain. Spain’s National Statistics Institute says tourist numbers are up, with a report released on January 3 revealing Spain welcomed 5.7 million international visitors in November – a notable 10.3% increase on the same month the previous year.
“In the first 11 months of 2024, the number of international tourists arriving in Spain reached its highest figure, exceeding 88.5 million,” it confirmed.
Anti-tourism campaigners attribute their growing dissatisfaction to the sharp climb in housing costs, flagging a roughly 20% surge in Barcelona property prices over the last year, alongside objections to the municipality’s tourism-dependent economy.
Initiatives are underway to alleviate these worries, with Mayor Jaume Collboni last year announcing ambitions to slash the number of tourist apartments by more than 10,000 by 2028.
