https://reasonstobecheerful.world/barcelona-fighting-overtourism/
"When the pandemic struck and Spain’s borders closed indefinitely, Barcelona,
one of the most visited cities in the world, was abruptly emptied of the
millions of tourists that usually overwhelm its historic streets.
While on the one hand, the instantaneous collapse of the city’s huge travel
industry hit residents hard, with many tourist-focused businesses forced to
close, on the other, parts of Barcelona considered tourist zones were reclaimed
by locals.
“It changed everything,” says Àlex Vedet, a 40-year-old resident. “We could
enjoy spending time in places that we had to avoid before.
Barcelona, a city of 1.6 million residents, received over 20 million visitors
in 2019. It is on the frontlines of a global crisis of unsustainable, rapidly
rising tourism that is inflating house prices and overloading transport
networks and services like waste management, producing trash, noise and air
pollution and eroding the fundamental sense of community — all the while based
on a volatile sector reliant on low-paid labor.
While overtourism is affecting all kinds of destinations, from historical
heritage sites to areas of natural beauty, urban tourism is a more recent
phenomenon. The impact of the pandemic, however, has laid bare the stark
reality of the situation, and Barcelona, like many other places weary with the
ills of excessive tourism, is fighting back."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
