Barcelona seeks to protect the rights of its own people first over tourists. The iconic La Boqueria market in Barcelona, which is a favourite venue of locals and tourists alike, has now barred tourist movement. Tourist in a group of not more than 15 will be allowed to enter the market at peak hours.
Friday and Saturday mornings are the busiest and increased footfalls are blocking the market’s narrow passageway off La Rambla, feel the stall holders who have put up a request to the government.
Locals mostly shop in between 8am and 3pm on Fridays and Saturdays. Tourists groups will be escorted by security guards out of the congested market area to cause them less inconvenience.
Local residents have also expressed the inconvenience caused by the tourists in the La Boqueria.
People in Barcelona are so fed up with tourists that they protested against mass tourism to one of the city’s most famous landmarks.300 locals organised noisy demonstrations around Sagrada Familia and complained against holidaymakers whom they claimed were making their lives miserable.
The number of tourist visiting Barcelona has tripled over the last 20 years. More than three million people visit the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi’s spectacular Catholic Church and Unesco World Heritage site, every year.
Barcelona has surpassed 7.5 million tourists in 12 months for the first time in its history in 2013. The top nationalities visiting the city are France, UK and the US.
But the city’s crime rate has flared and pick pocketing and bag snatching have become common complaints among visitors.
In most tourist destinations like the Gaudi’s Park Güell tourist numbers have been restricted in fear of the place getting over crowded. The number of tourists has been restricted to 800 a day.
It is important to reorganise public flow especially on weekends to help tourist enjoy Barcelona better feels Manuel Casanovas from Barcelona Tourism.
But it is important for world tourism pundits to consider the flow of tourist in different regions. How well can tourism from region to region be distributed evenly to keep the flow in proper equation and also maintain the ecological and population control in a particular destination. This kind of flow where more people arrive in a particular destination than can be accommodated gives rise to resentment from local residents. This is not good for the tourism industry. Recently the reaction of Hong Kong’s local people against Chinese shoppers has also trigged a volatile sentiment. Tourism is a bilateral relationship and associations have to play a more active role in addressing this problem. Tolerance towards people and communities will foster better relationships among communities.
