Locals Will Attack You with Water Guns if You Visit Spain

Overtourism – a problem that has been plaguing Spain for quite a while now, so much so that its residents have now taken over the roads to protest as well as to ‘attack’ the tourists in the country.

Visit Spain, Get Sprayed

Protesting locals in Spain have now taken a more severe way of raising their voices. They have abandoned their old ways of peacefully protesting and have now gone as far as squirting tourists with water guns in Spain. More than 2800 protestors took to the streets to protest the incoming tourists to the land, urging them to “go back home” and even squirting water guns at guests at local diners in the area. The crowd was also seen holding placards and singing chants of “Tourism Kills the City” and “Barcelona is Not for Sale!”

This has caused many tourists to run away from the area and not sit outside at open-arena restaurants. The water gun protest was seen in Barcelona, which is one of the most visited places in the country by tourists. According to reports, mostly American/Caucasian tourists were attacked as the number of American tourists in Spain has increased around 34% in 2024, a number that is causing high stress amongst the locals.

The Overtourism Issue

Overtourism has plagued the country for a while and the locals are fed up with it. Spain’s Barcelona, a city with a population of 1.7 million, had more than 26 million visitors in 2023, most of which were from the USA. The already-high number is all set to rise significantly this year, causing the country to take severe measures, but it also cannot be missed how the same tourism industry generated around €12.75 billion for the city, according to Barcelona Tourism Observatory.

Locals are mainly complaining that the influx of tourists has led to increased prices of land and rentals, and has even driven out locals to make space for high-paying tourists. The local infrastructure is also said to have taken a major hit, with many local stores and cultural places shutting down and commercial spaces like hotels, bars, and restaurants taking their place to cater to the new crowd. The country is also dealing with a severe housing crisis, which is driving more and more citizens to homelessness, as tourism booms and accommodation places are reserved only for foreigners.

The video of locals squirting tourists has generated mixed reactions on the internet. Whilst some understand the troubles of locals and how overtourism can affect their homes and daily lives, most believe that the tourists, who saved up to travel to a different land and did nothing wrong, should not have been attacked. “Everyone from Barcelona should be banned from travelling and being tourists themselves if this is how they are gonna act,” someone wrote. Someone else commented, “Embarrassing, since it is tourism that funds this country. This is harassment! If they keep this up, nobody will come to Spain and it will die due to lack of tourism. Who will they blame then?”

Barcelona is not the only place in the world facing the overtourism problem. However, it seems to be the only one ready to go to such lengths to mark their point. With locals suffering and tourists unable to enjoy their vacation due to the such protests, what exactly is the win-win solution of the situation, people ask.