Drunken or brawling holidaymakers are not welcome in Barcelona, the city’s tourism chief says
MADRID – Barcelona aims to attract upmarket tourists over drunken, rowdy groups, but Britons should not be put off from visiting, the city’s tourism chief has said.
Mateu Hernández, director general of Barcelona Turisme, the public-private consortium that manages the city’s tourism, said the Mediterranean city was aiming to fill all the city’s 23,000 five- and four-star hotel beds. These make up less than a quarter of the 81,000 hotel beds in the city.
Barcelona, which last year attracted 15 million tourists, is working with Virtuoso, a luxury travel company, to make the city attractive for upmarket travellers.
Mr Hernández said drunken or brawling holidaymakers who come to Barcelona to make trouble were not welcome.
“I mean we want to leave behind the people who come to do things they can’t do in their own countries,” he told The i Paper. “Getting drunk in the street and vomiting, disturbing neighbours, getting into fights, engaging in illegal activities. All of this – well, no – you can’t do it in Barcelona.”
Mr Hernández stressed the city wanted to aim for “quality tourism”.
“This is not a question of price. … It’s a question of what are you coming to do? The quality of tourism isn’t based on the type of visitor and how much they are prepared to pay, but rather on what they want to do,” he said.
If young people come and stay in hostels but want to enjoy Barcelona’s art, music or architecture, they are welcome, he said.
“If these young people who come to see [the] Primavera Sound [music festival] or Coldplay, [or to electronic music festival] Sonar, or to see an exhibition or to enjoy the architecture or they are architecture students who want to enjoy Gaudi, these are very high-quality tourists,” he added.
Last month, protesters using water pistols staged a small demonstration, squirting a tourist bus outside the Basílica de la Sagrada Família, Gaudí’s famously unfinished basilica.
An anti-tourism protest in Barcelona this month (Photo: Lorena Sopena/Getty)
It was an echo of when protesters soaked tourists last July during a demonstration against mass tourism, which captured headlines around the world.
More demonstrations are planned next month in the city as part of a coordinated action in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal to protest against mass tourism.
Mr Hernández said despite the protests, British holidaymakers should not be worried.
“Don’t worry – if what you want is to enjoy the Barcelona we offer, you’ll be more than welcome. If what you want to do is to do what you’re not allowed to do in your country, not only will you not be welcomed by the people of Barcelona, but you will not be welcomed by the authorities,” he said.
He stressed regular surveys carried out by Barcelona Turisme among tourists found they found the city and its people welcoming.
“What tourists who come to Barcelona tell us in very well-conducted surveys we conduct every week … is that they rate the welcome from Barcelona residents at 8.5 out of 10. This 8.5, which is almost always excellent, has not changed in years,” he added.
“Therefore the real experience – not the media experience – of one of the tourists who reach us is one of extremely high satisfaction with the welcome they receive.”
A local resident fending off Manchester United fans in Bilbao before the UEFA Europa League final at the Estadio de San Mamés in Bilbao on 21 May. More demonstrations are planned next month as part of a coordinated action in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal to protest against mass tourism. (Photo: Nick Potts/PA)
Mr Hernández insisted Barcelona was a safe city for visitors.
“It’s a completely safe, welcoming city, a welcoming city with people who respect it, just like everyone else,” he said.
Mr Hernández said he opposed “turistification” of the city and insisted authorities in Barcelona had done more than any other Spanish city to limit the number of cruise terminals, had already imposed limits on tourist flats, and will phase out all 10,000 of them by 2028.