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Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

bbc.com

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Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#21

Post by chabons »

more_corn wrote: post #6

It’s Barcelona in July. I would pay to get squirted. But also, Being mad at tourists seems weird to me. These are people who want to come and experience your city, learn about your culture, pay to eat food at your restaurants. Buy local art, have gelato with you. If your gripe is increased housing costs (which it almost always is) The problem is not tourists. The problem is short term rentals are more profitable than…

> Embrace them and make rules to prevent them from damaging the city they’re coming to experience.

+1, squirting the tourists who are already there does little to discourage other tourists from coming, or to solve the problem that they're competing for the same housing.

That said, I can't help but think that AirBnB(/VRBO/etc...) is just faster to respond to market conditions than traditional hotel businesses because it leverages already built private residences. If land is 5x as profitable as accommodation for tourists, then anywhere where a hotel could be built the value of the land will increase, and thus housing costs. I guess the local govt. has zoning as a lever it can use to restrict where hotels can be built though. Maybe that's the point though, that AirBnB sidesteps zoning, extracting more value from the land than other users can.

Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#22

Post by autokad »

7e wrote: post #3

This is the utterly foreseeable consequence of the HN-funded Airbnb, which effectively lets rich tourists drive up the cost of living of city residents.

I remember residents there and other places of Europe were upset about tourists far before airbnb was a major thing, like this article not limited to 2017 (although airbnb is mentioned, this goes back a long time):

https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/europe/europeans-angry...

Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#23

Post by morkalork »

itsoktocry wrote: post #17
more_corn wrote: post #6

It’s Barcelona in July. I would pay to get squirted. But also, Being mad at tourists seems weird to me. These are people who want to come and experience your city, learn about your culture, pay to eat food at your restaurants. Buy local art, have gelato with you. If your gripe is increased housing costs (which it almost always is) The problem is not tourists. The problem is short term rentals are more profitable than…

> They pay your wages, they elevate the economy. Even if I don't work in those industries? And what about the places where this money came from, and could have been spent? Point being, tourism isn't all good for all people. There are tradeoffs.

It's kind of like the resource curse isn't it? Such that easy money from the resource ends up impeding the rest of the economy?

Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#25

Post by petercooper »

taylodl wrote: post #10
more_corn wrote: post #6

It’s Barcelona in July. I would pay to get squirted. But also, Being mad at tourists seems weird to me. These are people who want to come and experience your city, learn about your culture, pay to eat food at your restaurants. Buy local art, have gelato with you. If your gripe is increased housing costs (which it almost always is) The problem is not tourists. The problem is short term rentals are more profitable than…

Either ban short-term rentals or heavily tax them, which serves to make them less profitable.

Maybe hotel chains could look into providing what modern tourists want and need. More spaces for families/groups and people happy to cook their own meals. These are the natural users of Airbnb-style properties, but I'd be happier going to a hotel if they offered a practical alternative.

Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#27

Post by mytailorisrich »

morkalork wrote: post #20

Why is mass tourism such a problem today and not the 90s/2000s. Is it really all thanks to platforms like Airbnb allowing cities to host so many more tourists that is the problem?

Cost and availability of flights has changed a lot. With companies like Ryanair (other budget airlines available) you can fly to anywhere in Europe for nothing by booking straight from your smartphone in 5 minutes.

Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#29

Post by dv_dt »

more_corn wrote: post #6

It’s Barcelona in July. I would pay to get squirted. But also, Being mad at tourists seems weird to me. These are people who want to come and experience your city, learn about your culture, pay to eat food at your restaurants. Buy local art, have gelato with you. If your gripe is increased housing costs (which it almost always is) The problem is not tourists. The problem is short term rentals are more profitable than…

On question is if the tourism wages paid support living in the city that one is working in. If they do not, then it is not paying in a sustainable way for it city culture that is being sold

Re: Mass tourism protesters squirt water at Barcelona tourists

#30

Post by mytailorisrich »

ceejayoz wrote: post #14
mytailorisrich wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This does not justify attacking peaceful people who are minding their own business and having dinner. In fact, in my jurisdiction this would be common assault. Also, "rich tourists"... On the contrary. The number of tourists across Europe has exploded because very cheap flights and available and cheap accommodation means that, for instance, spending a couple of days in Barcelona has become extremely cheap and afforda…

> In fact, in my jurisdiction this would be common assault. In most jurisdictions, it'd be both a) assault and b) something the cops wouldn't give a shit about unless it damages a laptop or something.

You call the police reporting that you're being assaulted. They will show up. The assault will stop. Now, I agree they might just tell people off with no arrest but that really demands on mood, behaviour of people, location, and indeed damages to property.
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