Last July, the Mayor of Barcelona pledged to reduce the number of tourists allowed into the city by cutting cruise ships and limiting the expansion of its airport. In an opinion piece in Medium, Christa Adams said, "the city isn’t thriving, it’s dying. Financially, it’s doing well. However, the city is being ruined by overtourism and locals aren’t happy."
Today, restauranteurs and shop owners are furious with government lock-downs and a start-stop approach to dealing with the pandemic. Only a fifth of hotels have reopened and several are expected to close permanently. A quarter of all jobs are at risk.
Here's hoping that the conversations in Barcelona (and other cities that last year lashed out at the tourism economy as evil) become more measured in the months again. The needs of tourism and residents are never mutually-exclusive...but must be mutually agreed upon.
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