Moment scared tourists cower as protesters blast them with water pistols in Barcelona as city raking in £86m from tax

DRAMATIC footage shows anti-tourism zealots blasting scared tourists with water pistols as they screamed “You are not welcome.”

The protests continue to run rife across the sunny Spain despite the country raking in £86million from tourism tax.

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Images show diners in popular tourist areas of Barcelona cower as the demonstrators squirt water at them.

The unlucky holidaymakers could be seen getting sprayed while they were enjoying their dinner at the restaurant patio.

Some tourists had to take cover inside the premises to avoid getting drenched and shouted at.

Thousands of locals took to the streets yesterday , chanting “Tourists go home” in yet another anti-tourism protest.

The restaurants had to be cordoned off to protect the visitors from the hordes of activists.

Locals marched bearing placards that read “Barcelona is not for sale” while shouting “Tourists out of our neighbourhood” in front of hotel entrances.

One protesters held up a disturbing sign which read: “Dear Tourist: Balconing is Fun!” – poking fun at holidaymakers who died falling from balconies.

The unprovoked attack on holidaymakers in the Catalan capital seems to have drawn inspiration from the anti-tourist organisation Balconing Balearic Federation, which keeps track of the deaths caused by “balconing” near island resorts.

This risky trend involves either jumping into pools below or climbing from one balcony to another.

The horrifying allusion was used in protests in Barcelona after going popular with the internet group that focuses on Majorca and other Balearic Islands.

Tourists are being unfairly targeted as locals are furious with the cost of living and housing crisis that has reportedly seen home costs rise by 68per cent in the last decade.

Rents also rose by 18per cent in June from a year earlier in tourist cities like Barcelona and Madrid, according to Idealista.

Some locals blame the hike in prices on holidaymakers as they rage “drunken” Brits are ruining their hometowns.

Frustrated residents claim they are being pushed out of their neighbourhoods with more properties being converted into AirBnBs and hotels.

Anti-tourist measures sweeping hotspots

A WAVE of anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe to curb mass tourism in popular holiday hotspots.

Overcrowding has become the main problem in many sunny destinations, with authorities trying to find a solution to keep tourists and locals happy.

Officials have attempted to reduce the impact of holidaymakers by implementing additional taxes on tourists, or banning new hotels.

Earlier this year Venice became the first city in the world to charge an entry fee for holidaymakers after it started charging day-trippers €5 (£4.30) if visiting the historical Italian centre.

It was followed by an area in Barcelona which resorted to removing a well-used bus route from Apple and Google Maps to stop crowds of tourists from using the bus.

Meanwhile, San Sebastián in the north of Spain, limited the maximum number of people on guided visits to 25 to avoid congestion, noise, nuisance and overcrowding.

The city has already banned the construction of new hotels.

The Spanish government has allowed restaurants to charge customers more for sitting in the shade in Andalucia.

Benidorm has introduced time restrictions, as swimming in the sea between midnight and 7am could cost a whopping £1,000.

The Canary Islands are also considering adopting measures to regulate the number of visitors – and charge tourists a daily tax.

Greece has already enforced a tourist tax during the high season (from March to October) with visitors expected to pay from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night, depending on the booked accommodation.

Officials in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia want to introduce a fee for travellers to remind people to be courteous during their trips.

However, Catalonia collected over £86million from daily tourist charges in last summer alone.

And the regional tourist charge is only set to increase with holidaymakers forced to fork out £3.39 from October to enjoy the beauties of Barcelona.

In another bid to crackdown on overtourism, Barcelona’s mayor, Juame Collboni, announced a plan in June to phase out short-term lets by 2028.

It’s been seen as a rather extreme and unexpected move by authorities.

But many still feel that locals are not prioritised in the city, with not enough being done to balance tourism with residents.

One local, 35-year-old musician Isa Miralles said: “Local shops are closing to make way for stores that do not serve the needs of neighbourhoods.

“People cannot afford their rents.”

Another resident, Jordi Guiu, said: “I have nothing against tourism, but here in Barcelona we are suffering from an excess of tourism that has made our city unlivable.”

Barcelona attracted more than a whopping 12 million tourists last year, local authorities report.

In an attempt to remedy the “negative effects of mass tourism”, the city council run by mayor Collboni announced a few days ago that it was banning tourist apartment rentals.

Mr Collboni’s decision could encourage a legal battle, with some tourists companies believing it could feed the black market.

Anti-tourism protesters also plan to bring the ­Balearic Islands to a standstill during the peak season for British holidaymakers.

Activists hope thousands will join the biggest demonstration yet in the Spanish tourism hotspot on Sunday, July 21 — just as many UK schools break up for summer and families head for the sunshine.

Reuters

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