The city is simply too beautiful – with its own beach by the sea, the alleys full of bars and restaurants, the luminous cathedral Sagrada Familia. Barcelona, the well-visited city, now wants to take measures to at least channel the onslaught of tourists.
Travel groups are expected to be limited to 30 people from the end of July. In the narrow, always congested streets of the old town, groups are only allowed to have a maximum of 15 participants. In certain zones of the historic center, the Ciutat Vella, one-way regulations will be introduced, according to a decree passed by the city administration. In addition, tour guides should no longer be allowed to use megaphones in the future. The city administration wants to avoid the noise pollution that many residents have been complaining about for years. In order, as it is said, “to harmonize the activities of the guides with the daily life of the local residents”, it was also decided that guided groups in the Ciutat Vella are not allowed to stop in the alleys. Specially trained municipal employees are to inform tourists in the old town about the regulations; if necessary, the police can impose fines of up to 3,000 euros.
In Barcelona, people have been struggling for a long time to deal with their own popularity, which on the one hand brings a lot of money. Restaurants, hotels, retailers, but also private individuals who rent rooms ultimately benefit from holidaymakers – and quite a few had to close their shops during the pandemic break. On the other hand, even before Corona, the hype was too much for the residents of the old town. This summer, it’s mainly the party-goers who have returned who want to enjoy festivals, nightlife and beach life. In July and August there are hardly any cheap places to stay. The city expects 20 percent fewer tourists this summer season than before the pandemic – which is still a lot. In 2019, 14 million people visited the city. The new rules will mainly affect vacationers who arrive by cruise ships or who want to visit the city in groups. However, one does not want to alienate individual travelers and cultural vacationers.
Antoni Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia is one of the most visited places in Barcelona. Online tickets were introduced years ago to guide visitors.
(Photo: Javier Larrea /imago images)
Above all, the city administration sees the drinking bouts on the beach and the excessive number of cruise ships as a problem. Ada Colau, mayor of Barcelona since 2015, has been complaining for years that the residents of Barcelona hardly benefit from the cruise guests. In 2019, around three million cruise tourists disembarked in Barcelona for a day trip. However, these vacationers spend comparatively little in the city; you have full board on the ship.
In popular districts, there have been repeated protests against the influx of visitors. Among other things, the residents called for stricter measures against the illegal rental of apartments. The city administration had already reacted here: New licenses for hotels in the center are no longer issued, and the letting of private apartments to holidaymakers has been limited. In addition, one strives for a decentralization of tourist flows. “Barcelona doesn’t have too many tourists, they’re just distributed wrongly,” said tourism councilor Xavier Marcé in 2020, “instead of using the entire urban area, everyone is crowded into 20 square kilometers.”
The only problem is that this is where all the bars, sights, shops and market halls that holidaymakers come for are located. At least since 2021 you can see where it is threatening to get too crowded: The app initiated by the city “Check Barcelona” Shows in real time how many sights are currently being visited – and helps guests to put together an alternative program.