The Anti-Tourist Protests Are Here... (My Thoughts as a Traveller)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 ก.ค. 2024
- Today's video looks at the issue of over-tourism and the rising movements against it around the world. I examine what is happening in Barcelona, Montreal, and other cities I have travelled to. This is an important issue that I think more voices in the travel community need to discuss.
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As always, I'm Dan from The New Travel. Thanks for watching!
So, if their demand is to limit the airbnb chain and downgrade the current massive scale of tourism, why did they not protest to the government and airbnb owners but the tourists? People pay to visit your country, value your scenery, food, culture and history, and you try to sweep them out of it. It is easy to discredit and way difficult to build that back.
I think they did unsuccessfully.
@@gillesbelanger1090 Backfiring as it shall be in my opinion.
@@cheungchingtong yes
In short this vision is the same as those that won't listen. Everything is for sale and has a price... WTF? Consumerism and commercialism gone off the rails. Do you think Blackrock cares if people protest? They are not there. Similar with the governments, their GDP is influenced, not so much the wallet of the locals. Since tourists have little to no interactions with locals. It's all chains that pick up most of the profits here. But the locals are the onces that are suffering. Did you think this dropped out of the sky. Those with their ears stuffed with money don't care how the locals feel, bottom line is their profits. So they put their focus on the tourists now, maybe they can become more ethical in their ways, and take a good, long, deep look at themselves and their behaviors?
In previous years in Spain there have been water shortages, leading to limiting water use; locals have to comply because if they don't there is no water for them, many tourist simply show they don't care. Not their problem. This issue is not just in Spain.
Brazil I believe they are privatizing beaches. Local places locals have been going to for as long as they have lived there, not are denied access, or they have to pay an fee to enter. Stuff like that, not mentioned. But also part of this tourism problem.
Also how many people say they care about climate change, but the big industries are the problem. How climate friendly is their vacation? All the travelling they do? This blindspot is part of the problem as well, and that's on the tourists.
I'm from Zaragoza, Spain. You are welcomed to come here. No one will shoot you.
Hay mas que Barcelona en España. Se puede visitar Zaragoza, Burgos, Santander, Avila, Merida, Oviedo, Gijon, Toledo etc.... Soy canadiense y he visitado todas estas ciudades y otras mas.
Yo también soy de Zaragoza. Los españoles somos únicos en morder las manos qe te dan de comer. Vivimos bastante del turismo. Qe vengan a Zaragoza y otros sitios. Aquí sois bien recibidos
As a traveller I don't use airbnb, I book hotels, I support the worldwide ban on airbnbs.
As a traveller, ypu are a stupid one more.
Hotels/resorts are also part of the problem, it's not just the airbnb.
How do you compensate you CO2 as a traveller?
Climate change is also part of the issue why this mass tourism and travelling is a problem.
@@schiffelers3944 if climate change was a serious problem than professional athletes wouldn't be flying back and forth to play a game and governments can facetime instead of flying jets across the world
@@likeaboss8282 People denying that that climate has changed and is changing are living under a rock.
Thinking this will not have any influence on human societies is plain ignorance.
Thinking we humans hold no influence over climate or weather is not educated enough in certain subjects. US dust bowl and agriculture? Tornado alley and cutting down the trees/woods?
These athletes aka elites aka "best athletes of the world" (genetics)
and the ruling elites have nothing to worry about, this was all part of their plans. Climate control, disaster control, population control.
Georgia Guide stones, keep population below 5 billion.
Start killing people, or having genocides is quite a hastle with fingers pointing blame in the end. Have climate and pandemics, survival of the fittest; separate the wheat from the chaff. Is just nature with a little nudge from some humans. No direct blame pointing fingers.
Do you think they give up their wealth and power just like that?
Divide and conquer, keeps us distracted.
Razzle dazzle, abracadabra.
Moral disengagements.
Why don't people take their protests straight to Airbnb?
Because they are a symptom of a larger problem.
Airbnb is the biggest first problem, they are bribing governments. So Airbnb has to fall first, it is easier to eliminate a company than a government.
Airbnb is being phased out in Barcelona
Absolutely
airbnb is not renting out the spaces, the owner is, against the law in that neighbourhood
Many landlors in Lisbon are also foreigners. If not most of them.
I live in Barcelona and that is sooo true. You might rent a small room, chicken coop style, for 500 euros a month, sharing with 5 other people (a lucky price though), with one and a half baths, and you can only do your laundry on (say) Wednesdays. It's very common to find a room for 800 euros and even for 1,700 euros. Many ads for rooms require that you do not cook, or that you are not allowed in the living room, or that you have to leave the room on weekends. In a city where salaries are miserable for the average person (the minimum wage in Spain is half that of the Netherlands, for instance), it's quite a crappy living situation. 70% of your wages go toward the rent of a single room!
so what do you think of those tourists??
But thats the fault of the Spanish government and not of the Tourists. Many other European countries are able to offer decent jobs and salaries. You need to be productive. If economy is not productive, then citizens arent neither, and that also applies to politicians.
@@User-hz5vz they bring money and Barcelona needs them. But airbnb is destroying the market. What surprises me is that even though Airbnb is present throughout Barcelona with competitive prices, hotels and hostels still have very high prices and always reach maximum occupancy. I am quite confident tha prices in Barcelona will never go down.
@@mariaagosti-pm7tkit is the fault of the tourists as well.
@@robbar42thank you for your comments
those people should redirect their anger towards their government… thats usually the root cause, tourists are just a symptom
And AirBnB, VRBO, and the cruise lines.
to think that these people don't complain also towards the goverment is another symptom of western society...
in this case the owner promised not to do airbnb and went ahead anyways, even giving fictional names and tenants to rent them out on the platform. everyone knows about it in a 10 km radius soooo, he'll clean up and they'll just do it again. mtl has a long history of shady owners promising one thing and doing the opposite. popular outrage
LOL, yes the governent forced them to go on vacation and join mass tourism. Tourists themselve are inocent, no blame for them.
Are you really this ignorant?
@@schiffelers3944 what are you talking about? not the government of the tourists, its the local government who should be responsible to control and limit tourism, banning airbnb, etc
The World is an incredible place, its sad that many places are suffering form over-tourism where other countries almost have no tourists
Good video! Thank you! I have been studying Spanish for 2 years... and I am/was planning to go visit Spain in the fall (Barcelona and Madrid). Since I saw that in the news yesterday, I wonder if I should reconsider my plans. I understand the Barcelonians' feelings... But I am not sure their approach is very constructive. I need to reflect on what I will do... maybe change my destination.
Cordoba, Granada, Cadiz, Bilbao, Asturias
I am happy to see our city (Montreal) busy with tourists during F1, the Jazz fest and through the summer, but let them stay in hotels, like they traditionally would. A problem with those port cities is when cruise ships come in, thousands of tourists all enter the city, they may buy a token souvenir but then not really spend anything else. This enormous influx of people without the corresponding revenue is a big frustrating point.
The solution is simple. Make the short term rentals illegal and confined to hotels. Due to the lack of supply, the prices will go up and reducing the number of tourists drastically. A single tourist can neither be part of the problem nor the solution. Telling/annoying/abusing tourists is not the solution. Do those things to your legislators
Ban instagrammers, selfies, TH-camrs and digital nomads and this will solve a lot of the problems… social media has ruined so many places.
I lived in the District of Columbia for over 40 years. While I miss it, I did not live in the "Monumental Core" where die Ausländer came. But I had to take the Metro and buses to get around. I tried to help lost souls but some tourists were so infuriating. I hope that Montréal finds a way to redefine B&Bs to not include whole apartments for temporary rent but rather rooms in an owner-occupied house or building.
More to the point: The reason that many of us subscribe to your channel is precisely for this sort of insight and questioning. And I tried to be respectful when I ventured all those years ago (2019) to your home town of Winnipeg, a greatly underappreciated city. Stay fabulous!
The point about digital-no-madding and living somewhere for the cheaper cost of living while unknowingly raising the cost of living of the area and out-pricing the locals is definitely super relatable for me. My Canadian province of Nova Scotia is basically being gentrified province wide. There have been so many people coming from the mainland that it's become overwhelming and Nova Scotians can't afford to live in their own province anymore.
I don't even recognize Halifax anymore it's been gentrified so much. Even small rural towns here are becoming gentrified, and rent is becoming like city prices. It feels like everyone I meet nowadays is originally from Ontario and I joke with my partner that we're the only Nova Scotians left in Nova Scotia. We have such a low GDP that we can't compete with the money people bring from the mainland and so we're being kicked out by them basically while they turn our cities and town's a mini-Toronto and the HRM is being turned into a GTA-lite concrete jungle.. It's so sad watching all the tree's be torn down to accommodate outsiders or what was once a small port city be gentrified into another boring bland over-developed city.
I know it's a larger Canada-wide problem, but it's hard not to feel depressed about it, or be negative about the situation.
Lack of regulation and human greedy, those are the problems
The real issue here is ignorance. Like not realizing that Spains GDP RELIES ON TOURISM, since it's their BIGGEST PRODUCTIVE SECTOR. This country is afloat BECAUSE of tourism. Go live outside of Barcelona and other big tourist cities, it's a wasteland of unemployment and poverty.
Around 15% of Barcelona’s GDP is from tourism, and 10% of employment is related to that sector. If they can afford to lose that revenue and employment then so be it. Spaniards won’t take their protests to the government and landlords where they could actually do something, they don’t generally have enough foresight to do so.
hi Dan. You're making some very interesting points and raising some interesting questions. I'm not attempting to repeat the points made in previous comments. Not that long ago during the pandemic there were incidents of mass shoplifting and vandalism of stores in local neighbourhoods. My point to even bringing this up is there's a similar short sighted mentality behind these actions. What about the harm the shoplifters and the tourism protesters are causing to their neighbours and coworkers by their actions? What about the local restaurants and stores? What about the locals who are employed by these businesses? What do they do when there's no job to go to?
One possible contributing factor is that, I (as a GenX) was told that investing in real estate was a good way to use my money and make a profit over time. Fast-forward to the mid-2000s when flipping shows made it seem like buying a house and selling it for a quick profit was an easy way to make money (especially prior to the 2008 financial crisis), I think that is when affordable housing became a more serious concern. In Montreal, new large-scale construction projects are supposed to include a percentage of affordable housing units, it is rarely enforced and is typically punished by fines that are not enough to make developers respect the initial agreement. In short, the fines for not respecting the requirement to include affordable housing are less than what the developers make in profits from selling higher-end units. Then, when you consider all the foreign investment in Canadian real estate that become rental units or AirBnBs, then the problem grows exponentially. When we purchased a duplex in 2007, our goal was for the rental unit to pay part of our mortgage, not all of it. "Absentee" landlords (those who do not live in the property or nearby) typically aren't like that; they want to cover ALL their costs through the rent they charge, whether that is by hiking rents for tenants or making their units short-term rentals. In my neighborhood, there is a notorious AirBnB that is known to be a party place that makes noise until the wee hours and disturbs the locals. The city administration has done nothing concrete to require the owner to respect noise regulations other than to fine the owner, which has had no deterrent effect. The municipal, provincial, and federal governments need to work together to help resolve the (many) issues that affect housing costs while also striking a balance to encourage tourists to visit and put money into the local economy. I have a trip planned to Barcelona in October and while the protests do concern me somewhat, they are not enough to dissuade me from taking my trip. Possibly I am being naive in thinking that I am always mindful about being respectful of the places I visit, but many cities rely on tourism for their local economy, so protests are not going to help in the long run if they hurt the economy. Purchasing real estate should not be viewed as a way to make money fast; the people who do that are part of the underlying problems that affect the livability of quiet neighborhoods and the overall cost of housing.
Another major source of tensions in Spain is clean water scarcity, because of the constant draught they are going through. While regular citizens are forced to heavily restrict their water use regularly, tourists keep coming by the millions with absolutely no worries about their water use and no restrictions on their water use - most aren't even aware of the draught, let alone its severity, and rejoice at the fact that there's no rainy days during each of their trips to Spain.
You know spain desalinates water? Use the tourists money to make more desalination plants
@@nostro1940 It is a very expensive and polluting process. You need to desalinate the water, purify it, adjust its pH - all of this requires a lot of energy and generates tons of concentrated toxic brine. It also leads to the further privatization of clean water, something that used to be a public good.
@@Oliwer_M it's not more polluting, energy centrals already run turbines (heat up water) to generate energy. Collecting water from it is just a bonus
@@nostro1940 It doesn't work this way. Go educate yourself on the subject. Energy centrals are energy centrals, not desalination and water purification facilities. Also, there's a reason why energy centrals use soft water from rivers and not hard, salty water from the sea / ocean. Because it would be a maintenance nightmare. The process of desalinating and purifying water is very energy-intensive, very expensive and generates many pollutants. It's not some magic solution. There's a lot of greenwashing surrounding this technology.
@@Oliwer_M do you even understand the basic concept of "closed loop" how do you think nuclear power plants work? Lmao what an idiot. DEWA | Jebel Ali Power Plant & Desalination Complex is just one example of what I said and you think it's magic.
I think there are two main problems. First, those people that are earning a high salary elsewhere and living in Spain as “expats” or travel nomads, because Spain is cheaper. This leads to locals not being able to afford basic stuff as prices go up. The second problem is Airbnb (and thankfully it will be banned soon) as there’s an incredible amount of flats and empty houses because they’re airbnbs and they’re often owned by people who don’t even live in Spain. And at the same time many locals have to move far away from their families and work because it’s impossible to pay more than 1000€ in rent when your salary it’s usually 1.300 😅 in any case that’s not the tourists’ fault. I don’t agree with the way this was handled, and I was born in Barcelona. In some islands it’s even worse… locals can’t even go to their usual spots like beaches, squares, restaurants… because it’s over crowded. And they can’t even dream of buying property in their own city 🫤 I think at this point the only solution would be to set a maximum number of tourists that can enter a city at the same time or give some kind of priority to locals (either people born in a place or people that are legally working and living there, even if not Spanish). But it’s impossible, our government is a circus and they’ll never do that 🫠
Far left speech, stupid as always looking for the poverty of others.
I'm a traveller myself and I'm not really sure how to resolve this problem. I usually stay at local hotels vs AirBnbs
One step would be to stop using Airbnb, and use local hotels only.
There is no problem. Those who are protesting are lazy people that have never worked.
Most of the protests (and the protests that have become famous too) do not criminalize tourists and target government regulations (limit or abolish airbnbs, cruises, etc. and promote other sectors of the economy). The protestors who did that with the water are a minority of that protest, and the fact that no news coverage said anything about similar sized protests that didn't do that, but had major coverage for the protest that "attacked" tourists, seems to at the end back up what they did, since that has caused the debate to become more important and known.
In Catalonia and Spain that protest has been treated as one more of the several that we've seen all around the country for months, and it was not one of the biggest ones even.
Barcelona is full of stupid people, lazy people, you only need to look at that people to know that they haven't never worked.
I really appreciated hearing your thoughts on the issue. I'm definitely reconsidering the use of airbnb for my next trip.
I mean the housing crisis is because of [corporate] landlords, not really anyone else, idk why we would blame anyone else.
Well, governments promoting mass migration driving real estate prices naturally high because there's no room for everyone in a city, there's a limit, just so you know. The same governments rasing taxes and devaluing peoples' currencies making cost of living more expensive may have made peoples' lives more difficult. But of course, it is always easier to blame those who won't do you any harm (unlike governments) and try to make a living.
La culture des jeunes professionels qui voyagent 2-3 fois par an,voir plus, est aussi problematique que les abus que l'on reproche aux boomers, les 25-45 sont malheureusement emportes par l'hubris du voyage comme soupape a leur ennui et leurs angoisses, sans aucune profondeur de champ sur les implications de leurs choix. Tout ca revele aussi l'absurdite du niveau de pouvoir d'achat qui est entre les mains de couches sociales hyperactives et enivrees par les tentations modernes..
How about the jobs that require travelling more than 2-3 times a year. Jobs which were created by…baby boomers.
Baby boomers also holiday more than millennials. Most of them are retired and travel way more than twice a year. You can’t blame just one generation for this one.
Solid points. I would say that the question you ask at 13:30 can pretty reliably be answered. Gigification/service/sharing app devs (I use this colloquially to mean the companies that own the IP less than the engineers who build the apps) generally confront these kinds of protest movements with legal/political intimidation, spin, and platitudes. They never actually modify their business models to ameliorate the impacts they have on the markets they operate in.
I have never been in favor of tourism, which is generally made up of the rich and petty rich, my mortal enemies, although that tourists are a distinctly different class of people than travelers. Travelers are NOT tourists. Travelers are generally made up of common people, and maybe a few independent petty rich(middle class) peoples. I travel extensively across the US and Mexico, but I have always avoided tourist areas like the plague. I currently live in a small rural community in southern Mexico, where, or to the best of my knowledge, am the only light-skinned foreigner living ( on the long term) in the entire municipality. I like it that way. However, over the past 30 years, there have been a couple other light skinned foreigners, generally canadian or american, who have appeared here, and unfortunately have had less than honorable intent. One was interested in buying cheap drugs, another wanted me to help him find a 12 year companion. So, we don't need that. Yes, tourists can be very disrespectful of local customs and economy. Although the narco Mexican government has a sometimes yes, sometimes no attitude towards tourism, depending on the financial benefit to them at the time, I personally don't want to see ANY progress that may lead to more tourism. Currently, the government is expanding the federal highway that goes through my area, and actually I am opposed to it, as we all know that it will bring more development, more rich people, more noise and contamination, more crime, more auto accidents( as the collective taxi drivers have always flew down the road like planes, killing many bicyclists, pedestrians, and everyone in the taxi in horrific accidents, and now will be flying even faster with the wider highway, killing even more people.) Tourism, in general, only benefits the rich investors, and makes low paid slaves out of the local youth. Tourism, by and large, can be done without!
dan, are you you using a rental that should be on the market as a long term rental?
I am a frequent traveler around the world due to work most of the time. I have visited many places but not Barcelona. I've always wanted to travel there as a tourist, but everything I read and see make me to give a second thought. I mean i don't want to bother the locals and definitely i don't wanna feel unwelcome.
Dan, I have not been on TH-cam for a while. I see you are still making great videos.
Welcome back ;)
Dan, are you using a rental that should be on the market as a regular longterm rental?
Called it!! Here in Los Angeles we are seeing many Asian immigrants come and buy our properties with cash at highly inflated prices that people like my family living here for decades can't afford. You can tell when you go to open houses... it's infuriating and it does make you want to lash out. So the world should know, it's not just in their countries, it's in Western countries too.
In a crappy area of town where my parents bought their home when they could barely afford it, so much housing went up for leasing and prices starting at 900k when they bought their house 20 years ago for $320k. The issue... you can tell the people living in them are not from around here. They were never advertised to the public for purchase at an affordable market value. They were already sold to foreign and housing investors. It did not improve living availability in our area. If anything, it pushed people out. These developers tore down whole neighborhoods of old houses from the 50s to build tight housing (with no yards) and charged a million each. It's ludicrous. And how did they get around this? The developers along with local government built up and landscaped the area to improve the look to match the price. They even painted a school and modernized from pink to a nice white with blue trim. They offered to landscape neighboring homes that looked unsightly.
These people protesting are idiots because they don't understand this is happening everywhere and their self-centered views are failing to see it's not just the foreign investors and travelers but also developers and government. Why not just destroy the place when it's in production? It would cost the developers more to keep rebuilding.
I mean WAKE UP PEOPLE! Look at ads of real estate developers trying to sell to you on TH-cam how to buy... they are the problem. People like Tony Robbin's, Dave Ramsey, and other notable big names that flaunt their wealth (mostly by hoarding properties) built on the backs of people who can't afford to live there.
Even people here think it's people buying in an area and raising the market value for the locals. NOPE, WRONG AGAIN! Foreign investors, governments and large companies already had their hand in your neighborhood long before Air bnb and tourists got there. That new big company like Amazon that just moved into your neighborhood to "provide jobs" has already inflated the market values of home. They buy up properties paying a little over the top then hold them for their investors to do with them what they want.
Think about it... every time you hear a country or foreign area is so dangerous... investors are already there scooping places up. Places like Mexico were always advertised to be generally unsafe but foreign investors got in there and bought up properties before people started realizing they could live their cheaper than in the US.
If tourists stay away from Spain for one year, they will beg them to come back. Their income from tourism is so significant.
Significant is an understatement, it's their largest productive sector, making up 12% of the GDP and 11% of employement. Without tourism, Spain falls apart.
I think it's typically unfair to blame the individual. I am sure most of us (and them) have been tourists. If people can go and see a new place, why wouldn't they. Just like can't blame individual (legal) immigrants. These countries promote immigration and let them in. Can you blame someone for trying to make a better life elsewhere?
This all comes down to terrible mismanagement from the top; not putting in the correct measures to handle influxes of tourists, residents, immigrants. Not managing housing properly, not managing inflows, poor regulation.
What I don't like is that these people are hypocrites, it's a classical case of "Don't do as I do, do as I want." I guarantee you that each of these protesters has visited classic tourist destinations and will continue to do so. AirBnB regulations are not the tourists' fault and, most importantly, housing prices increase in every popular city, not just in tourist spots. There are many factors, but the biggest one is that more and more corporations buy property and convert them into luxury apartments. In most cities, there is plenty of housing, just not affordable one. It's a vicious circle because the higher the housing prices, the less private buyers can buy them for their own use, the more luxury apartment conversions, and the higher the rents will increase as a secondary effect. Another problem is that many houses are empty/remain undeveloped. I live in Lisbon and there is a derelict house at every second corner. *When* these are bought, they are never bought by individual owners, they are always bought by large investment groups, and they are always converted to luxury apartments. It's a purely political issue and 100% fixable by politicians. Protest the politicians. My 2 cents.
of course, you personally know each one of them, little genius with your Infowars degree.
@@carlop.7182It's just common sense, if you ask anyone you know or have ever met, chances are ridiculously slim that they have never been to a major tourist destination in their life. And if somebody tells you they will never travel again or only to completely non-tourist destinations, that's generally not credible. If you disagree and find it credible that these protesters will stay in Barcelona for the rest of their lives, then you really need to get out of your basement more often. So yeah, they're hypocrites.
I completely agree with this and see this too. People are directing their anger at the wrong people... while the smug investors sleep soundly at night with not a care in the world.
So these people should be locked in their fickling Catalonia and never let them go outside@@carlop.7182
I'm telling EVERYONE to come to Barcelona!! A tourist paradise!!! Look at how friendly they are, taking time off in record numbers just to cool down the parched tourists while they eat, with a light misting! LUXURIOUS!!!! Come to Barcelona❤
I think that these protests are much more aimed at mass tourism--large groups in buses that monopolize an entire area of a city. Or as you say, careless tourists that don't care about locals, or local traditions. As for air b'n'b, it was a good idea at the start, but some greedy, money-hungry people took advantage of it, like the guy here in Montreal who had over 200 appartments at his name alone for short-term rentals. That's 200 appartments less on the market for locals. It was fine when people were renting their own appartment, but when it became a big $$$ business, it also became a problem.
In Canada, the main issue is the huge number of wealthy international students that were allowed in this country.
They come with their families and rent the available houses in the market for no-matter-the-price, thus pushing rent prices up and making it not affordable to young Canadians.
In view of that, I have heard the government has placed a freeze to these students so hopefully the market will adjust.
My view on the mindset of the "ignorant tourist" in Barcelona:
1. Barcelona didn't exist before tourists arrived. All of today's monuments in the city were made up to attract tourists. Without the revenues of tourism, Barcelona would die.
2. Consequently, we, the locals of Barcelona must be thankful, and even humble to tourists. Independently of house speculations, increased prices and rude behaviours, such as making noise at high hours, vomiting and/or urinating in public spaces.
Well your first point is a blatant falsehood since many of those monuments are from the 19th and early 20th century and some are from far earlier.
@@CripplingDuality You're right. But I'm afraid you haven't read the first phrase, where say I imagine the "mindset of an ignorant tourist", not my mindset.
I agree so much with your points. I won't go into details bc this is a very complex and multidimensional problem, but something I'm watching so clear is that this protest in Barcelona, which is silly, pointless and won't return any good outcome by itself, is pointed out by many people. And people who only stay in the pointless and sillyness about the protest are from countries that use other countries as their theme park. A protester using a water pistol are the news for them, and not the gentrification on the cities they visit. And I agree with you. We don't want to live out of tourism, and we don't live out of the tourism, we survive. The only one living the life here are the tourists, the politicians and the landlords.
PS: It is very difficult to sabotage airbnbs, at least in Spain, because it is very common that they are renting flats, first home that are on airbnb temporary, and stuff like that. It is easier to go to a restaurant where a coke costs 800% of a standard bar and aim them with water pistols. Even if it's worthless after all.
You guys do realize that Spain's main productive sector is tourism right? It's 12% of the country's GDP. This is your issue. Outside of big tourist cities, Spain is an empty, jobless wasteland of poverty.
So protesting and crying at tourism is not only ignorant, it's utterly stupid. Your country has serious issues and tourists aren't one, in fact, they are keeping your country afloat.
@@OncleJer 100% right. Utter stupidity to not direct the ire towards AirBnB, VRBO, and the cruise lines.
@@OncleJerthis is what I mean. You treat Spain, Greece, Italy, half of Mexico.... Like if they are your garden. And you use them, throw 2 coins at them and think that you're helping. Those two coins tourists throw aren't going to the people. Let's see if we can understand that. But the consequences of massive tourism, that totally affects to the people. I agree maybe the target is not the tourists themselves, but please do not think that massive tourism helps in any way because it is not. We had to deal with crisis but since this is not affecting to Germany as much as Spain or other countries, this is only considered as inflation. No. This is a crisis for us and for a lot more countries. We have more tourists than ever, we're living worse than ever. Don't try to make anyone think this posion is also their medicine. (And btw I'm always speaking about massive tourism)
@@OncleJer I don't pretend to be rude, but this is like saying "Do you realize that 25% of your calories intake are fat?" ok, go on and make it 70% of fat then, right?. Let's see what happens.
@@Nihuel You completely fail to understand the point. On another comment, you mentioned Spain, Greece and Mexico. What do these countries have in common? A cheap, fragile economy with rampant unemployment.
They are not in a shit state BECAUSE of tourism, it's rather the opposite. There is tourism because the country is CHEAP, because of it's terrible, weak economy. So people from wealthy country go there. You don't ever hear people from Switzerland complaining that they are suffering from tourism, do you?
The question you need to ask yourself is, what would your country be like, if its biggest economic sector fell to the ground?
Your businesses would be failing left and right and unemployment would SKY ROCKET, so be careful what you wish for.
Remember Covid? Do you remember how it affected Spain? Unemployment rose to 16%, that's HUGE, by far the highest in EU, while your GDP declined by over 10%, also RIDICULOUSLY high.
Tourism isn't the reason your country is in a shitty state buddy.
This is very good timing to have this video because as you know and mentioned there are countries not wanting tourists or finding there are too many of them. I've been travelling for many many years and now I find that AirBNB's are a problem. I don't use AirBNB's anymore, I prefer hotels but I know they are sometimes more expensive, I've stopped using AirBNB's for a few reasons. Cost is blown out of proportion for what you get. They are damaging neighbourhoods and I agree with you that some people don't respect where they are staying. Some AirBNB's are run down with poor conditions. These people who disrespect the AirBNB accommodations are ruining it for others. But let's look at the people who are buying these AirBNB's or converting them, they have quite a lot more money to do so than the people who are just managing their money. It's the capitalist society we live in, it can be good and it can be bad, where in many cases the capitalist society is ruining life for many. I'm glad you made this video, it's good to speak out about these issues.
Airbnb began as normal people opening up their houses to people for lesser money than the hotels. Why it didn't get the public pushback in at the start, the big concerns (hotel chains, etc.) had larger concerns at that time. Over the past 10-ish years larger companies and people with sickening wealth bought up places to turn them into full-time airbnb so to speak. As you slightly mentioned. That is what the change is in this towards airbnb.
Hey protesters: You NEED tourism. Over-tourism is what ya got now. Deal with the real problem: AirBnB, VRBO, and the cruise lines. Start with your local politicians and get them on board!
AirBnB should've never been a thing. Legislate them out of existence. (then do San Francisco next)
I have understood that everything started with the covid lockdown. In Mallorca, in Palmas, the locals noticed how peaceful it is to live in their own town, when the swarms of locusts (tourists) shine in their absence!!. as soon as Lockdown left, the city was full of locusts again and the locals missed Lockdown time. Another reason that angers the locals is that water must be conserved by order of the authorities(climate change), but when the city has a holiday hotel where the rich play on the artificially watered golf course and swim in the spa and pool sections, they don't conserve water at all!!. airnb rental is one of the reasons someone mentioned here
I hope you can remember that the locals in Mallorca where suffering from loss of income and huge poverty because no tourists came anymore. If you want to complain, then invent a different source of income and work on a productive economy that doesnt only rely on tourism. Its not the fault of tourists.
@@mariaagosti-pm7tk shut up....
@@tonttaana8930 Oh someone feels offended
@@mariaagosti-pm7tk oh yes...im hot tonight...baby
So is Airbnb to blame for the inflation of the prices for the locals? It seems they should be protesting Airbnb… anyways I hope something gets done so they can get affordable housing.
There is a solution called HOTEL.
Excellent documentaire !
Le tourisme de masse, bon marché, polluant et irrespectueux des populations locales est une plaie.
Also the stores and restaurants can jack up the prices in the summer.
Gostei do seu vídeo. Parabéns. Abraços do Brasil . . . 🤗🤗🤗!!!!!!!!
Seems counter productive to shoot water at the tourists that are there as for most of them it’s probably the one and only time they will visit that country or place. And it’s not their fault that over tourism is happening. The cruise ships, bussing in of tourists, and airbnbs are the problem and the government doesn’t regulate it. Most everyone would respect limitations on visas or day passes to different areas.
I saw those "Tourists go home" signs in Barcelona back in 2003
Incentivize the construction of new buildings, single family into multi family dwellings and the addition of ADUs, trim the bureaucracy and use the funds to help the homeless.
This is a pretty simple problem to solve:
- Airbnb and other short term rentals should be a very small percentage of all apartments or houses for rent. In Barcelona, Lisbon and other places it is already a significant percentage. So there should be a quota.
- Remote workers should pay the local taxes even if they are on a tourist visa. If not they should face huge fines and if they don't pay, eventually prison time. Lets stop with racism and descrimination against the locals that have to pay high taxes and compete against the foreign free riders.
- There should be a limit on migrants, and they should present a CV and pass a screening proccess. Think Singapore.
With these 3 measures the problems would be solved quickly. Of course the corrupt politicians don't want that, since they make money from real estate (in Portugal it is their biggest investment), or from uncontrolled migration to keep the bankrupt state machine going on.
You said it very well, I like what you shared
Video how many lanquage do you speak,has more in future ?
Yes
i find it quite violent to attack the tourists, and i don't know if attacking the tourists will fix the core issue, which is the Aibnb, particularily those being managed by companies. But in any case, I won't be spending my holidays and my Euros in Barcelona, hell no.
In my view we all need the concept of limitarianism in our modern societies. Not just limits on wealth that can be hoarded, but limits on tourists, in this case. I think the tourist would also like it better if there were less of them so they could experience their vacation better. Think of it like a theme park, or an elevator, or just a simple room. Full is full! How many people truly can enjoy Venice if they also have to crawl over the other tourists? Could see this because all the tourist, long lines here, longer lines there.... and not enough time in your full packed vacation to pleasantly check off the boxes of things you wanted to see or do.
Dan, this issue really hits home. I'm writing this from an Airbnb in Ouro Preto, Brazil. Not a typical example since 90% of the tourists in Ouro Preto are Brazilians themselves. I believe you were here during your visit to Brazil.
I lived in Spain in 1993 (when you were an infant) before "overtourism" was either a word or a concept. I love Europe but haven't been there in a long time, and don't see myself returning anytime soon.
My advice to travelers is this: Throw out those idiotic "Bouquet Lists" which all have the same things on them. The Eiffel Tower, the Coliseum, the Taj Mahal.
Be creative when choosing your tourist destinations. Barcelona too crowded? Try Bogota. That's not on your next-door neighbor's Bouquet List.
Having lived in Latin America since 2000 and traveled to many countries, I have never seen overtourism as a thing here, with only a handful of exceptions.
Places to avoid in Latin America (for your own sake):
Mexican beach resorts. Get away from the beach and see Mexico.
Machu Picchu. PLEASE: Give Machu Picchu a rest. It's sinking under the weight of ten million backpacks. Ditto the neighboring, overtouristed city of Cusco, which is the jumping-off point to the ruins.
Cartagena, Colombia. Too popular. Too touristy. Completely different from the rest of Colombia.
The Galapagos Islands. Seriously, why do they even allow tourists to ruin this unique biosphere?
Medellin, Colombia is a interesting case. In recent years it's become too popular both with digital nomads and heterosexual men seeking cheap sex tourism. (The last Airbnb I stayed in in Medellin specified: "No prostitutes unless you want to spend time in a Colombian prison.") However, I love the city, have some friends there, and will continue to visit, respectfully.
These exceptions aside, Latin America is mostly free of the absurd overtourism that is plaguing Europe and some other places.
I've lived in Sao Paulo, Brazil since January, 2023. I only lived in an Airbnb for the first month. Since then I rent an apartment in a high rise and pay the same rent, electricity, gas, wifi etc. as my Brazilian neighbors.
In the vast majority of Latin America, Airbnb is not an issue.
Bottom line: Europe is not the world. It has become the destination of people with limited imaginations. (I say that as someone who once frequently traveled to Europe.)
Look around. Just because no one you know has been to Cali, Colombia, or Curitiba, Brazil, that's no reason why you shouldn't be the first.
>digital nomads and heterosexual men seeking cheap sex tourism
Two demos with significant overlap.
I fully agree on one hand with AirBnB on the other hand be honest we love to use this possibility as it often cheaper as hotels. Also if nobody would visit Barcelona a lot of people will loose their jobs.
This is disgusting. As someone who was recently a tourist in Italy I had no idea how big the problem was and I have no control of how many tourists are let in to any particular country. These people clearly have no common sense. Protest the people who are the cause of the problem ffs. How rude.
Thank you
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by this video. I was expecting less compassion and understanding.
The big rich companies, and their money are lesser reasonable than a standard tourist would be. This didn't drop out of the sky.
And the tourists are part of the problem at large. Simple example in a different area. Take Amsterdam, and how common it is not to hear Dutch or be spoken to in Dutch, enter a store or shop and they most likely greet you in English. It is understandable why this grew this way, not just tourist here also expats, etc. But just imagine not being able to speak Dutch in a place in the Netherlands. How weird is that. These kind of influences I haven't heard.
This will not only be a problem in the Netherlands. Tourism and tourists also have changed over time, people and their attitudes have changed over time.
And some tourist from certain countries are known problems with lack of respect etc.
1:27 Agreed. 100%. However, that can be said about any nationality incl the Spaniards. I’ve encountered tourists from Spain in diff parts of the world (Ireland, Philippines, Mexico, Bolivia, U.S. etc) and they’re guilty of bad behavior as well.
1:37 Annoying tourist (from any country) habit #1.
10:21 With the _UTMOST_ respect I think that’s a naive way of thinking. If I had to think “am I visiting a country whose citizens are oppressed or mistreated?” every time I planned a trip, I wouldn’t be going anywhere.
Good. I'll never visit those places where tourists are not welcome. Hopefully nobody visits them anymore.
hopefully!
Funny how they push away tourists, when they are LITERALLY keeping their country afloat. Their main productive sector is TOURISM.
I'm *more* likely to visit them. It's fun to teach people learned helplessness.
This is just a minority protesting agressively
they don’t like tourist, but I bet the majority of them like travelling them self.
Tourist are part of the bigger problem, not so much every individual but them as collective. So the tourist should not take it personally, but do recognize they are part of a problem and not a solution. A thing you left out in this also has to do with climate change, and water shortages/droughts, etc. I didn't hear you about this. It's more smaller issues all combined into one big mess.
Salut Dan, je suis d'accord avec la manifestation de Barcelone. Trop de tourisme, c'est un problème. Beaucoup de gens vont à Barcelone pour faire la fête sans aucun respect pour la population locale. À Mexico, les nomades digitaux s'installent dans les beaux quartiers de Condesa et de Roma. Ils sont payés en dollars américains, c'est une aubaine pour eux. Malheureusement, les Mexicains doivent partir de ces quartiers, car ils ne sont plus abordables. Une sorte de néo-colonialisme. Merci pour tes réflexions. Tu es un voyageur sensible et ouvert. Le monde a besoin de plus de voyageurs comme toi.
"Trop de tourisme". Le plus gros secteur d'activité économique pour l'Espagne EST le tourism, représentant 12% du PIB et 11% des emplois. Va voir ca ressemble à quoi l'Espagne en dehors des grandes villes touristiques, c'est vide, sans emplois, la pauvreté. C'est pas le tourisme le problème, c'est l'absence d'activités économiques et ca, ce n'est pas la faute des touristes, mais la fautes des gouvernants du pays.
@@OncleJertu expliques toi même le problème. Il y a trop de tourisme dans des zones spécifiques. Et ça devrait être régulé. Ça sert à quoi qu’il rentre de l’argent du tourisme si les habitants doivent partir de sa ville ou vivre dans la misère? Tu penses vraiment que les habitants touchent tout cet argent? Ma mère habite à Barcelone et ça fait des années où elle peut même pas visiter les endroits préférés de sa ville car c’est un calvaire, et trop cher. Les personnes qui étaient en location se font éjecter de leurs maisons car ils font monter le prix, et ils ne peuvent plus payer. Bien sûr cette manifestation était ridicule mais au moins ça fait parler… et ceux qui comprennent pas le problème principale c’est parce qu’ils ont la chance de pas vivre ça. Je ne pense pas que la manque d’activité économique soit le problème, car en Espagne t’as pas d’apl, pas de rsa… donc soit tu travailles soit tu meurs de faim. Le problème c’est les salaires trop bas, et les prix ajustés au pouvoir d’achat des touristes.
Are there anti-tourist protests by people in Montreal against Tourists from France?
The problem is that people are boring and go to the same places as everyone else. People need to go off-the-beaten-path more. I completely understand locals in these overcrowded places, even I as a tourist hate going to them due to way too many tourists, they are not enjoyable due to way too many tourists, and therefore I am not interested in going to places like Venice, Barcelona or Dubrovnik, staying away from there.
In an AirBnB Smile! You're likely being intimately videoed with a tiny camera hidden in the smoke detector, alarm clock, lights, plug adaptors etc.
I'm glad I did all my extensive touring 30-40 years ago; now its busloads or boatloads of clueless sheep ready to be fleeced by local entrepreneurs. We did it right here in Hochelaga: build more affordable housing, not AirBnBs.
Airbnb is a good idea; however, it became out of control and an unfair competition to genuine hostals and a nuisance to the locals.
Both Montreal and New York have taken steps to limit Airbnb's. Neither of these cities are poor so many residents can afford to buy apartment to keep them out of other people's hands. They should have boughten the apartments as the song goes "If you like it, then you should've put a ring on it"
ur take is bad and ignorant of conditions which exist in cities with rent control.
@@nunya990 I am neither bad or ignorant. If the city of Montreal or Citizens of Montreal wanted to buy these apartments and rent them to locals they could. The problem is the apartments are too valuable to be rent controlled or subsidized.
@@drewski-qu3co get a degree in urban planning or poli sci and come back to me, live in cities with expansive rent control in Europe or the Middle East and come back to me. Capitalist realist doesn't know that he can still learn things.
@@nunya990 Yep my degrees are in Accounting and Economic as well as my designations. I learn all the time. In addition I have lived in Europe. Sorry you disagree.
Fundamentally it's an issue of inequality. They are just using tourists as the punching bag. I hope those in the protest, especially those shooting water at tourists, never travel else, otherwise, they are just a bunch of hypocrites and shouldn't be taken seriously.
Did they tear down the taqueria to build that apartment building?
That's a good question, I don't know the area well enough to answer. But I remember the taco spot you are talking about
Well the protest works. I crossed barcelona off my list. If they make the protest bigger and long term, tourists will stop coming
The next question you should ask people from Barcelona :' How often do You go on a (short) holiday to visit a city ? ' .. Since the rise of budget airliners tourism in Europe has exploded. The growth is mostly due to other Europeans. Not Americans, not Asians (although this relative increase was high , but low in absolute numbers).
So Europeans 'overtourist' other cities, in other countries. Spaniards go to London, Paris, Amsterdam. The Dutch ('Amsterdammers') like to go to Barcelona, The Fins to Turkey, the Brits to Amsterdam or Riga. For a Londoner and Glaswegion friend it is cheaper to meet in Prague than elsewhere in UK , due cheaper fly tickets . Germans are all over the place.
Americans don't have enough free days to go on holidays.. It is us Europeans who spoil the places mostly. And mostly since Ryan Air and Easy Jet..
As far as I heard from people I know who live in Spain it's small minority of idiot's who doing this . They don't understand banning Airbnb won't do shit they don't even make 5% of 800000 houses . If u want cheaper rents just do what Texas did and just build more houses just look at Dallas and Houston they're building more houses and rent is already falling. In my country and city banglore (basically silicon valley of India) landlords are decreasing rents bcz new housing popping up all around. But who am I to give advice if Barcelona a city who depends 20% on just tourism wants to destroy themselves. Or u can go on canada route where u are 2 million house short (2010) and only now making 4000 houses in 2024 . Meanwhile importing 200k immigrants everyear who have nowhere to live.
Houses have been built already. There are millions of empty houses in the country. Prices are all the same bc people compete against companies to own a house. Huge % of available houses in big cities of Spain are owned by companies that make business out of the houses. With tourism and other problems of the country, like abandonment of rural towns, it is worthless to build more. They can keep houses empty until foreigner or companies buy them to make profit out of it with airbnb... I wish it would be that easy as you say.
There needs to be more regulations on Airbnbs
There need to be more housing built .
No. Everyone has the right to do whatever they want with their own property that they worked their arse off to purchase. Less regulations making it easier for houses to be built is the way to go.
Or u go for tried and tested method of building more housing (vertical) . If u ban all Airbnb, hotels in Spain it won't make dent on market only reduce foreign currency inflow in Barcelona.
@@ssnaut1871 so, by your logic, as airbnb increases the foreign currency inflow in Barcelona, that would mean that during the period of time since airbnb started to be used until now we should have more money by now, i.e. better quality of life right? Well, it has not happened. In fact it is the opposite. Apparently we are living way worse with more money, and in addition we have lost our cities and their culture are almost fake by now.
@@jacbrito Bravo. In the town I live in they just passed an ordinance to regulate airbnbs any way they see fit. The town's a ski resort in Vermont. The taxes are monumental and for a homesteader like me who lives her year-round I have hosted on airbnb for the last 1.5 years after my husband died. My property was just assessed at double from last assessment for property tax and I already pay 20K a year. Now the town board is moving in on airbnbs. What will be left is a town where no locals can afford to live and it will be all second home owners who can pay the taxes without doing STR I guess? So I am done with it, done with all the regulating of my so called private property which is really just serfdom under property taxes, Sold my home in three days and am leaving this rabidly controlling ski resort town, as beautiful as it is. I tend to like to gravitate to places where I am treated well.
I find people in Europe blame eceryone else for their problems & not themselves, a lot of tourist related businesses that weren't lost during the Pandemic are just starting to make a comeback, but now it looks like this us the latest protest fad in Europe,Gaza has lost steam, now we hate tourists.
One other thing, since you are Canadian, do you mean to tell me that people who pay a fortune for apts in Vancouver don't also move to Thailand, Mexico, Ecuador, Vietnam to take advantage of cheaper rents get away from the cold weather or is it only Americans.
This is so hypocritical because Spanish people go on holiday too. My country is a very small island in Mediterranean and in summer it fills up with students who come to learn English amongst other millions of tourists. Most of the students are Spanish and they are loud, they get drunk and cause of lot of trouble. So I will very well go on holiday to Spain until Spanish to on holiday to my country..
Yes, they come to the Philippines once or twice a year for vacation, renting air BNBs esp in the provincial areas.
There you go! Thanks @@gabrielmcdonnell8699
Thats exactly what iam going to do keep my American money home and in my own pocket and i will spend it in my own communities and small businesses that really use it
Xenophobia is an ugly thing.
Where is everyones next holiday?
DO NOT Use Airbnb. Period.
People are also addressing this angers to political levels at local, autonomous and State levels. But street actions help visualiza the problem. (Otherwise this video would have been never uploaded).One thing is a tourist and another really different stuff is a traveller. Money can't be the 'perfect excuse' for devastation.
FUN FACT - The natives of the 20+ countries that speak Spanish didn't invite the Spanish . O, the irony !
😴 😴 😴
Im sitting back and staying away....just give it 12 months and watch how theyre begging for tourism as the arse totally falls through their economy
I hate when tourists set the prices so high on accomidation, activities, clothing and food 😄 i hope those unfortunate locals controlled by greed and lack of integrity will be ok.
Tourists don't set prices, lol, what are you talking about? Spain struggles not because of tourism, but because they have no economic sectors keeping the country alive. When 12% of your GDP is tourism and it's your largest productive sector, you can't complain that tourists are ruining it for you. Tourists are keeping your broke country alive, literally. Go see how spain is outside of large tourist cities, rampant unemployment and poverty.
Tourists don't go to local spots
Everywhere is local for someone, right?
People grow up in Barcelona, New York, Tulum, Bogota...ect. the same people that extort tourists when they come, then extort locals because they know they can get that amount from tourists. Then blame the tourists that their cost of living went up, but THEY raised it themselves...with greed and lack of integrity. Ya feel me or not so much?
👍🏼💸
eating at taco bell in Barcelona... cringe. they could have stayed home
So easy to solve. Just don't go there, many other beautiful countries that will accept the money that you bring there.
just tax the tourist...
MASIFICACIÓN TURÍSTICA es de lo que nos quejamos en España, no del turismo a niveles normales. Todo esto conlleva a que hay muchos pisos turísticos tanto legales como ilegales que les quitan la posibilidad de acceder a la vivienda a los españoles, los turistas que se vayan a los hoteles y hostales.
Once a global recession hits (and it will just matter of when) people will regret these protests. Tourism brings jobs which many of these young people probably work in the tourism industry.
Yes!
La tolerancia existe hasta que le pisan el callo a los humanos.......
I think you can rent a room in someone's place (instead of a whole apartment) and have less impact , and at the same time get to know some locals and maybe even make lifelong friends ! I've had a few good experiences doing that.
Me too. I like to rent a room in a home an share common spaces. Made some great friends through going that way on Airbnb. Cook meals in same kitchen, hang out in same living room/patio, eat meals at same dining table. It rocks when you get good hosts an other guests-and you can get a good feel for the host by reading their bio and other traveler's comments.
Spain trying to achieve the broke status
The world is aggressive; if locals cannot withstand competition in places that they consider "theirs", then they are deeply mistaken. It's not "their" place if they can't afford to live there. Birds fly every year to spend the winter, but people hold on to their cages. There are many places in the world to start the process of prosperity. But people hold on to jobs in big cities, and all their money goes to food and rent. Let's say these people get rid of tourists, but what will they get in return - a slightly higher level of comfort while working as employee? This is a losing strategy, they need to look for a way to be rich, and not achieve a simpler slave lifestyle
Haven’t you thought that maybe people don’t hold to jobs in big cities; but maybe they hold to their families?😂 if you have the bad luck of being born in Barcelona and all your family is there, you think it’s normal being forced to move away?
@@SandraBaker i moved away multiple times in my life. Last time because of war, i think moving away is great for developing personality and getting more life experience. I also lived in Barcelona, not so great city for living, i would change it without hesitation.
If you born in Barcelona and have apartment, tourist can renting your apartment while you live in more peaceful place doing nothing. If you dont have apartment - big question to parents why they not provide basic needs before reproducing. I know reality - most of earth population dont own house/apartment when they born. Hispanic people have huge advantages - they can live free in EU, also they already know spanish and easily can move to latin america.
I’m a global citizen mannnn ✌🏼
Greeted with amazing hospitality until they find out you're LGBT*
Spain 🇪🇸 always has been a racist country if you and other people aren’t awake yet 😢😢
Lmao what does this have to do with racism? You clearly didn't understand the reasons why they don't want tourism.
if you suffered racism, go and take an appointment with a psychologist,. I am foreign in Spain, I never experienced racism.
@@bobbeldibob1642 You don't want tourism why? Because you want your country to fail? You guys have no economic activity lol, the largest sector of your GDP is tourism. What do you expect will happen to Spain's economy when you destroy your country's main source of money? Look at Spain outside of large tourist cities, a wasteland of unemployment
@@OncleJerWe aren't against tourism, we are against MASSIVE tourism