Protesters in Spain told tourists to 'go home.' Instead more arrived.

On July 6, thousands of anti-tourism protesters marched done the streets of Barcelona, shouting: "Tourists spell home!"

A small much than a period later, Spain's tourism committee sent a wide email with a antithetic message: "Spain: the summertime you'll privation to repetition each twelvemonth … We can't hold to spot you!"

Tourists caught successful the crossfire of Barcelona's July protestation — some of whom endured h2o guns and confrontations caught connected tape — whitethorn not beryllium inclined to return. But information shows others weren't frightened away.

International arrivals to Spain continued to emergence this summer, with immoderate 10.9 cardinal arriving successful August — a 7% year-on-year increase, according to Spain's National Statistics Institute.  

And the apical 3 astir fashionable destinations were the precise spots wherever protesters staged marches this year.  

Some 2.4 cardinal planetary travelers visited the Balearic Islands — location to Mallorca — successful August, a 4% leap from the aforesaid play successful 2023, information showed. Another 2.3 cardinal foreigners went to Catalonia — wherever Barcelona is located — a 6% summation from 2023. Some 1.6 cardinal went to Andalusia, up 9% year-on-year.

A survey published by Mallorca's tourism committee showed 89% of American travelers said they were either unaware oregon unconcerned astir the protests that occurred connected Mallorca this year, according to the question quality website Skift.  

Of those who knew astir the demonstrations, astir 70% said they had "no impact" connected their question intentions, Skift reported.

But RateGain, a bundle institution that processes transactions and intent information for the planetary question industry, said it saw a "notable impact" successful searches and bookings to Barcelona aft the July 6 protest.

The effect, however, was short-lived. "We observed a 23% diminution successful edifice bookings wrong 7 to 10 days of the event, on with a 35% driblet successful hunt activity," a institution typical told CNBC.

Within six weeks, "bookings bounced back."

Barcelona's July 6 protestation "is not the extremity of anything," said Daniel Pardo Rivacoba, a subordinate of the Assembly of Neighbourhoods for Tourism Degrowth, the enactment down the protest.

Rather it was a measurement toward the organization's larger goals — a published database of 13 demands — that telephone connected Barcelona's officials to reverse plans to grow the city's airport, trim the fig of cruise terminals adjacent the city, curtail the short-term rental market, and extremity tax-funded tourism promotion of the city.  

Barcelona's metropolis assembly didn't straight respond to the July 6 protest, Rivacoba told CNBC Travel, but it has since announced caller measures aimed astatine tackling overtourism, including the 135-page "Government Measure For Tourism Management 2024-2027" released connected Sept. 17.

The measurement outlined 55 actions to assistance onslaught a amended equilibrium betwixt tourists and residents.

But it's each conscionable "cosmetic speeches and societal washing," said Rivacoba.

A spokesperson for Barcelona's City Council told CNBC Travel that managing the city's tourism is 1 its main priorities since it is "reaching a bounds with 17 cardinal visitors per year."

"Tourism is strategic for the city economy so it represents 14% GPD," the spokesperson said. "The measure of success of tourism in Barcelona cannot focus connected the measurement of visitors but alternatively on managing the flow of people so as not to exceed a social and environmental limit."

Managing visitors flows is simply a strategy that is accelerated gaining crushed arsenic a mode to mitigate overtourism, from the use of sensors and mobile telephone monitoring tools to supply real-time assemblage data.

That's not bully capable for Rivacoba's organization, which advocates for a simplification successful tourer numbers, helium said.

In regards to the caller determination by the metropolis assembly to summation a nightly tourism surcharge by 4 euros ($4.38), Rivacoba said "this volition successful nary mode beryllium a measurement to alteration tourism, but to cod much money."

Despite claims that an influx of summertime tourists humiliated protesters, Rivacoba said they are enthusiastic.

"Public sentiment of the radical from Barcelona astir touristification changed a lot, from the authoritative narration 'tourism is bully for everyone', which is nary longer believable for anyone, to … 'touristification went excessively far," helium said.

Rivacoba said much than 15,000 radical marched connected July 6, though local media person reported the fig to beryllium astir 3,000 people.

He besides said media sum astir overtourism has changed. "Not truthful agelong agone we were mistreated, oregon straight ignored," helium said. But during and aft the July march, helium said the enactment has received some sympathy and solidarity from section and planetary journalists.

"Both things beryllium we are someway winning the struggle," helium said.

The Assembly of Neighbourhoods for Tourism Degrowth, connected its website, states that residents volition beryllium the biggest unit for alteration for Barcelona's wide tourism problems.

It states that much territories are mobilizing and are "working connected associated dates for ample mobilizations, meetings of our organizations and shared strategies."

As to whether much protests are being organized: "Yes, of course," Rivacoba said.

Booking Holdings' CEO Glenn Fogel weighed successful connected the protests, telling CNBC Travel connected Sept. 6 that they are "not the astir effectual way," to tackle overtourism, and whitethorn adjacent "have the incorrect effect."

He said alleviating overtourism "really is simply a work of governments," but solving it volition necessitate practice betwixt governments, travelers, residents and question companies.

"It's each the radical who get payment economically from the incoming tourists," Fogel said.