For Barcelona, Tourism Boom Comes At High Cost 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Manu Fernandez/AP Manu Fernandez/AP 
 
 On a mild, sunny afternoon, hordes of tourists stroll down Barcelona's famous tree-lined pedestrian avenue, La Rambla. They love it — the weather, the tapas, the laid-back bohemian vibe. One tourist from Australia says he's visited Barcelona 12 times in 10 years. 
 
 But the city doesn't always love them back. 
 
 In January, thousands of Barcelona residents marched down La Rambla and "occupied" the entrance to a hotel there, to protest the volume of tourists and gentrification in the city. 
 
 Such rallies began in the summer of 2014, after a group of Italian tourists rented a flat for a bachelor party in an old fishermen's barrio on Barcelona's seafront. One morning, three of the visitors were photographed gallivanting around the neighborhood grocery store — stark naked — as elderly neighbors looked on, aghast. Their antics made the local newspapers and sparked protests which have spread across the city in recent years. 
 
 That incident became a symbol of tourists gone wild in Barcelona, and gave birth to neighborhood anti-tourism groups. 
 
 "The promotion of tourism, and all these tourist apartments, is actually driving neighbors out," says Martí Cusó, a member of one anti-tourism group in Barcelona's Gothic quarter, where his family has lived for three generations. 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Lauren Frayer for NPR Lauren Frayer for NPR 
 
 He takes NPR on a tour of his barrio, where the dry cleaner and local tailor have closed, their storefronts converted into a 24-hour mini-mart and souvenir shop. A city square that used to be entirely residential is now lined with hotels. The only remaining apartment building has just been renovated into luxury condos, mostly to be used as vacation homes for wealthy foreigners. 
 
 "All the community that was living here has been broken — completely broken," Cusó says. 
 
 At his local market, the centuries-old La Boquería, most people are not buying vegetables. 
 
 "They crowd the passageways, taking photos, so regular people can't do their grocery shopping," says Rocí Gayo, who has sold fruit at La Boquería for 20 years. "Out of 20 tourists, if I'm lucky, maybe one will buy one piece of fruit — but no more." 
 
 Two years ago, City Hall banned tour groups of 15 or more people from entering the market altogether on Saturday and Sundays before 3 p.m. — peak shopping hours. 
 
 Tourism does bring revenue, and has helped Barcelona grow. It currently makes up about 12 percent of Barcelona's economy — up from less than 2 percent before the 1992 Olympic Games showcased this city to the world. 
 
 But tourism revenue is not shared as equitably as many locals would like. As old rent controls expire, restaurant and hotel chains have gobbled up mom-and-pop, family-run businesses. With more than 30 million annual tourists in a city of 1.6 million residents, there may be more tourist rentals in Barcelona than year-long leases for full-time residents, says Janet Sanz, the deputy mayor in charge of urban planning. 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Lauren Frayer for NPR Lauren Frayer for NPR 
 
 "It started with the '92 Olympics, and it's opened to the world," Sanz told NPR in an interview at her office. "We understand that other people love our city. But we're becoming a tourist theme park, every time a grocery store closes and a souvenir shop takes its place. People live and work here. It's not just a fun weekend place." 
 
 In January, City Hall banned new hotel beds in the historic quarter. Late last year, it slapped the home-sharing companies Airbnb and HomeAway each with 600,000-euro fines ($634,000) for listing unlicensed tourist rentals. 
 
 Such companies have become targets of public anger over rising real estate prices and a diminishing supply of year-long leases. Homeowners can make much more money renting short-term to tourists than long-term to locals. 
 
 Sanz estimates there are 10,000 licensed, short-term rental flats in the city, and about 7,000 illegal ones. 
 
 "We agree with them on the need to crack down on unwelcome commercial operators," says Patrick Robinson, regional director of public policy for Airbnb, who traveled from London to negotiate with Barcelona officials. "But the city also needs to come to terms with the fact that Barcelona residents are using space in their homes to generate much-needed income at a time of economic stress." 
 
 Starting this spring, Airbnb has agreed to limit homeowners to one property listing per person in the city center. But it disputes the city's rule that every listing must have a tourist license — which requires a long bureaucratic process — especially if you're renting out part of your own home. 
 
 That's the new sharing economy, Robinson says, and Airbnb helps disperse tourists throughout the whole city. 
 
 "More than 70 percent of guests who travel to Barcelona with Airbnb say they want to live like locals do. That is why so many people are now staying in areas that don't normally see tourists," Robinson says. "This is a different kind of tourism." 
 
 Enlarge this image toggle caption Lauren Frayer for NPR Lauren Frayer for NPR 
 
 The city frames the licensing dispute as a security issue and encourages tourists to ask landlords if they have a tourist license before they rent. Otherwise, city inspectors could evict tourists from unlicensed apartments at a moment's notice, Sanz warns. 
 
 Late last year, Sanz and her City Hall colleagues conducted a citizens' survey. Residents responded that their No. 1 concern is still unemployment — currently at around 10 percent — even though the Spanish economy has rebounded from the economic crisis. 
 
 Their No. 2 concern: Too many tourists. ||||| Authorities in Barcelona are so fed up with tourist hordes that they have banned new hotels from opening in parts of the city. 
 
 They are also - under a sustainable tourism plan approved at the end of January - considering increasing a property tax on tourist accommodation and even introducing a tax for day-trippers. 
 
 Barcelona is one of Europe's top destinations but many residents complain the city is being overrun and losing its character. 
 
 Shops catering to tourists are pushing out amenities for locals Credit: Manfred Gottschalk mago-world-image/Manfred Gottschalk 
 
 Critics say local amenities are being pushed out of the city centre to make way for shops and bars that cater to tourists, while overcrowding around the city's attractions makes roads and streets a nightmare to use. 
 
 This summer, action will be taken to reduce pressure on the most heavily touristed areas, such as the Barceloneta beach and the Sagrada Familia, that includes relocating the terraces of certain bars and limiting the circulation of scooters or segways. 
 
 "The number of tourist flats in the city is staggering," said Sally Davies, our Barcelona expert, "and has pushed long-term rental prices to stratospheric levels. 
 
 Tourist numbers are increasing every year Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Jose Fuste Raga 
 
 "It’s hard to not feel exasperated with the clogged-up streets, elevated prices and the closure of tiny family-run businesses. There are now ice-cream parlours where there used to be bodegas, launderettes, herbal pharmacies and hardware stores – specialist shops for locals, who have never really taken to the mega supermarket concept. 
 
 "The tens of thousands who come in on cruise ships every month are a big part of the problem too," she added, "they fill the streets but don’t eat or drink, because all of that is provided on board." 
 
 How to avoid being an annoying tourist 
 
 With visitor numbers in the city increasing every year, our Barcelona expert had the following tips for enjoying this wonderful city without becoming a nuisance: 
 
 Tourists are advised to eat local Credit: This content is subject to copyright./Carlos Sanchez Pereyra 
 
 Eat and drink local 
 
 ‘Buy local’ is an obvious one. But eat and drink local, too. Coffee is no better in Starbucks than it is in the sleepy little bar on the corner and will cost you twice as much. If you want ice cream, buy it from an independent shop, not Häagen-Dazs. 
 
 Shop at museums 
 
 Avoid souvenir shops, which have become something of a plague. Go to a museum gift shop instead, or any of the many ceramics shops, which are also aimed at tourists but sell locally produced and artisanal pieces, with authentic links to the region. 
 
 Leave the bike behind 
 
 When it comes to sightseeing, quirky transport and tours are ever more popular, but one of the things that frustrates locals the most are the fleets of segways, bikes and scooters that clog up narrow medieval streets and send pedestrians ducking into doorways to avoid being mown down. 
 
 Let your app be your guide 
 
 Barcelona is not a big place, and one of its great strengths is that you can walk everywhere, particularly in the Old City. Self-guided tours – with a guidebook or app – make perfect sense, and break down the ‘them and us’ divide that makes Barcelonins feel they are living in a theme park. 
 
 Rent responsibly 
 
 The pull of tourist apartments is understandable, being cheaper than a hotel and having self-catering facilities, but use them responsibly. Keep the noise levels down both inside and outside the building. 
 
 Or just stay in a hotel - this is the rooftop of the Pullman Barcelona Skipper Credit: Copyright:Marco Pastori/Photographer:Marco Pastori 
 
 Opt for a home stay 
 
 Wherever you can, rent a room within a home rather than a whole flat – that way you’re not occupying a flat that would otherwise be rented or bought by Catalans, who are being priced out of the market by speculators looking to make a fast buck. ||||| Barely two days after banning all new hotels from its city center, Barcelona is escalating its war on tourism. Mayor Ada Colau presented her Strategic Plan For Tourism 2020, which includes measures that she says will further curb tourism and reclaim the city for its inhabitants. 
 
 Barcelona has a population of 1.6 million, and received 32 million visitors last year. Tourism accounts for a significant chunk of the city's economy—14%—but the ill effects on permanent residents from being such a tourist destination are starting to pile up. The tourism industry pushes out local stores in the city center to make room for bland bars and tourist-trap shopping. Employment is seasonal and casual—a serious problem in a country with an unemployment rate at around 43% for young people—and property prices keep rising, along with rental costs, making it nearly impossible for residents to find affordable housing. 
 
 The new plan's goal is to "govern tourism," according to El País. Colau seeks to curb the worst excesses of the industry, and tightly control those it allows to remain in place. In an effort to dampen the short-term rental market, Barcelona will now apply the highest property tax rate to vacation apartments, and the city will not provide licenses for new tourist apartments. The city council is also seeking permission from the Catalan government to regulate room rentals in non-hotel accommodations, like bed and breakfasts, which would allow the city to dictate how many rooms are available per floor, or for how much of the year those rooms could be rented out. 
 
 [Photo: JanHetman/iStock] 
 
 Sleepover tourism, however, is not the only target of the Strategic Plan: New measures will also ramp up charges for day trippers, making Barcelona less attractive as a cheap tourist destination. This will mostly be accomplished through indirect means: A test scheme, for instance, will raise the parking rates for tourist buses stopping at the Montjuïc fountains—a major traffic hotspot as well as tourist hellhole—from €4.50 to €34 ($4.80 to $36). That, in turn, will likely hike the cost for people on the buses. 
 
 Other measures will affect residents more directly: There are plans to limit the use of Segways and electric scooters in the more touristic parts of the city (they are on the seafront), to pedestrianize certain hotspots on the busiest days, and to relocate the terraces of bars and restaurants, which often take over public spaces. 
 
 Taken together, it's obvious that Barcelona is serious about curbing tourism, and instead focusing on an economy that can create greater benefit for its local residents. The tourism sector isn't happy, of course, but the industry relies on growth and invasion at the expense of local culture. Tourism may be a big money maker, but it has minimal benefits for the majority of citizens.
– While many cities would welcome 32 million annual visitors, Barcelona has had quite enough of tourists, thank you very much. Though tourism represents 14% of the Spanish city's economy, a tourism plan presented by Mayor Ada Colau this week lays out measures meant to dissuade tourists from rubbing elbows with Barcelona's 1.6 million residents, reports Fast Company. The proposals include blocking licenses for new vacation rentals and taxing those that already exist at the highest property tax rate. The city also has banned hotel construction in the city center and is seeking permission to regulate room rentals at hostels, B&Bs, and other accommodations. There are even plans to increase parking fees for tourist buses. Why are such measures necessary, according to city officials? For one, local businesses like dry cleaners and hardware stores are suffering as those catering to tourists are taking over. Jobs in these establishments are seasonal—a major issue given Spain's 43% unemployment rate for young people. Property prices and rental rates are increasing, to boot. "The number of tourist flats in the city is staggering … and has pushed long-term rental prices to stratospheric levels," one expert tells the Telegraph. All of this has spawned "anti-tourism groups," per NPR—and they aren't just on the fringe. In a 2016 survey, Barcelona residents named unemployment as the only issue of greater concern than the number of tourists.