As visitors return after easing of Covid curbs, talk of diversification of Spanish city has been drowned out by sound of ringing tills
“Barcelona is for sale but not to the people who live here,” says Silvia Mateu, who has lived in the seafront neighbourhood of Barceloneta for 47 of her 61 years.
The city has had some success in attracting startups, especially in technology industries, which deem the city on Spain’s Mediterranean coast as a cheaper and more attractive option than Paris or Berlin. However, since tourists returned in Easter talk of diversification has been drowned out by the sound of ringing tills.
“My barrio is so saturated with tourists it’s impossible to meet someone in the street or for children to play or even to get a good night’s sleep,” he says. “These two years of the pandemic have been hard but it’s also a missed opportunity to rethink the city.” “I have been arguing for a more localised economy but I’ve been swimming against the tide. We have to work to ensure that the past two years haven’t just been a mirage.”
For example, Ada Colau, the mayor, wants to restrict the number of cruise passengers who disembark on any given day. She claims that of the 3.1 million who arrived in 2019, 40% spent less than than four hours in the city. Colau is targeting them with an attempt to clamp down on an estimated 6,000 unlicensed tourist apartments but is hampered by a supreme court ruling that allows websites to advertise illegal apartments.Photograph: Thiago Prudencio/Sopa/Rex/Shutterstock
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