'Tourists go home!' Anti-tourist protesters SWARM tour bus and fire water pistols at holidaymakers

Protesters fire water pistols at a tourist bus at Barcelona's Sagrada Familia
GB News
Holly Bishop

By Holly Bishop


Published: 30/04/2025

- 10:59

Demonstrators in Barcelona are demanding 'the detouristification' of the city and its economy

Anti-tourism activists fired water pistols at a tour bus outside Barcelona's Sagrada Familia, warning of larger protests to come this summer.

The demonstrators blocked the tourist vehicle whilst chanting "Tourists go home!" and squirting it with water.


They covered the bus windows with a banner reading: "Turn off the tourist focus."

Organised by the Assembly of Neighbourhoods for the Decrease in Tourism, the protesters are demanding "the detouristification" of the city and its economy.

Acitivists stop a tourist bus with water pistols, in front of La Sagrada Familia Basilica

Activists stop a tourist bus with water pistols, in front of La Sagrada Familia Basilica

Reuters

"We are here because we are fed up that tourism is always on top of this economic model", one demonstrator told Reuters on Sunday.

The group claimed 24 people were arrested during the incident.

However, they also announced a larger protest planned for June 15 across several Spanish cities.

They stated the demonstration aims "to put an end to the tourist fire that is sweeping the planet, and to initiate once and for all the essential socio-economic transformation of the territories it exploits".

In a joint statement, protest representatives said: "For decades, the exploitation of tourism in our territories has provoked reactions and mobilisations against it, but those of last summer represented a significant leap in both quality and quantity".

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A view shows a wet tourist bus, as acitivists against tourism stop it by shooting with water pistol

A view shows a wet tourist bus, as activists against tourism stop it by shooting with water pistol

Reuters

They added: "Our territories are not for sale and that it is urgent to put limits on the growth of tourism, in demanding a change of course and in pointing out the path of tourism de-growth as a way out".

This is not the first time tourists in Barcelona have faced such protests.

Last year, thousands marched through central Barcelona under the slogan "Enough! Let's put limits on tourism".

Some protesters used water guns on tourists dining outdoors at restaurants in popular areas.

Spain saw record-breaking tourism numbers last year, with over 15 million visitors to Mallorca alone.

In response, demonstrations erupted across Spain, including one where up to 50,000 locals took to the streets of Palma.

Protesters have been seen chanting "tourists go home" and demonstrating on beaches, booing sun-seeking holidaymakers.

Activists stop a tourist bus with water pistols, in front of La Sagrada Familia Basilica

The group claimed 24 people were arrested during the incident

Reuters


Some carried signs reading "Barcelona is not for sale" as they stopped in front of hotel entrances.

The protests come amid a wider housing crisis that many Spaniards blame on mass tourism.

Weeks ago, tens of thousands demonstrated across major Spanish cities including Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca.

Locals are increasingly creative in expressing their discontent.

Residents of the Mallorcan town of Soler launched a campaign called "Welcome to Sollerland", referring to their home as a tourist theme park and posted AI-generated images showing locals lamenting lost spaces.

One shows a child on a beach saying "I used to play here", while another depicts an adult in a square saying "I used to have a coffee here".

Another image features a local wearing a T-shirt with "I was from here" surrounded by tourists.