Tourists shot with water pistols

[FriedGold]

Anyone else a bit worried about the protests against tourists going on across Europe? It’s really putting me off travelling with my children. If I’d been one of the people on holiday shot at with water pistols by angry locals in Barcelona I would have felt so threatened and upset! I generally don’t feel I can book to go to any of theses places now in case we’re not safe.

I saw it, I love Barcelona I'd be scared to visit atm it's a horrific that protesters are resorting to assaulting people.

People should vote with their feet.

I don't disagree with the protestors per se. We see similar issues in British towns and cities. But it's short sighted to take their ire out on tourists when it's their governments that are the real culprits. It won't be long until the restaurants, bars and cafes start to close and employment takes a hit. I understand homes are unaffordable at the moment but they will be equally unaffordable without jobs.

I won't be paying money to visit or holiday in areas where I'm a potential to be subject to this kind of abuse. plenty of beautiful places in the world where you are greeted with a smile.

Horrible individuals doing that.

I didn't like Barcelona anyway but wouldn't be visiting now after watching that.

We get a lot of tourists where we live in our town. can’t imagine shouting “go home!” In a braying mob at some poor family trying to enjoy a holiday here.

I haven’t been to Spain and always wanted to go but to be honest right now I simply wouldn’t consider it. As poster above says, lots of other more welcoming places. I also wonder what would happen to businesses if tourism significantly reduced.

The French have been resenting and being rude to tourists for many years. Mind you, the ones they particularly - and reasonably - hate are the caravanners who spend nothing.

When I’m PM I’ll ban caravans.

Horrendous, short sighted behaviour. They will be protesting again when unemployment is through the roof due to lack of tourists!

We caravanned in France we spent loads of money we went to supermarkets and cafes and attractions, However I did find the French were friendlier when they discovered we were not English!

I hope the people involved aren’t hypocrites and are committed to not visiting any other foreign cities or countries…e.g London

Sadly a lot of Brits behave like disrespectful, entitled idiots on holiday. I wish we could behave better towards the locals (although have given my main opinion above).

The Dutch were the ones mostly objected to, I was told by several locals in the South of France. They were reckoned to be easily the stingiest.

You say ‘across Europe’: where, other than Barcelona, has this been reported?

I spend a lot of time in France - have a house there and take the whole family regularly; kids/grandparents etc. The French are fine, as long as you speak to them in French and don’t behave like a twat (I’ve seen so many British tourists shouting in English at waiters.

It’s soooo embarrassing and they seem to think the louder they reiterate their demands the increased likelihood that they’ll be understood.) But in terms of Barcelona, no I definitely wouldn’t be going there at the moment, particularly not with a young family. Why bother knowing what’s going on? Just choose somewhere calmer and less risky

The world is huge, people should only holiday where they are welcomed and we'll see how that affects those people currently protesting. Maybe they'll change their tune. Or maybe their lives will actually be better and it'll be a win-win. Tourists go where they're wanted and have a great time and locals get to have the lives they prefer too.

Probably best for English people to pretend to be a different nationality in that case, so they aren't subject to xenophobia

Palma in Majorca too

Maybe because they just took their food with them. We don't camp now but I'd never go on holiday somewhere and not spend any money in shops or attractions.

I understand the protesters issues but targeting tourists isn't going to solve their issues.

And the Canaries, I thought.

Yes. also the Canaries.

The fact that this made the news shows how astonishingly rare such incidents are.

Put another way, why would you worry about 20 tourists getting sprayed with water pistols, when several hundred have their wallets stolen by pickpockets across the Mediterranean every day? Apparently everyone has discounted the latter risk (which is fair enough, it's several hundred out of several million).

Anyway, I trust that nobody from this forum is planning to visit the US any time soon. I'm told that a lot of people there get shot with non-water pistols.

I used to know some South Africans who said that when they were abroad and drunk and rowdy, they pretended they were English, so English people would get the blame. Probably best for English people to pretend to be a different nationality if others are doing it.

I'd rather take my chances with a water pistol and being told to go home by angry locals than to be mugged or pickpocketed. Just saying.

Yes, it was the self-contained, don’t eat out, don’t use the shops attitude that I heard about the Dutch. Was a few years ago though. Maybe the Netherlanders spray their money about with abandon now!

Not one tourist has been assaulted in Majorca by the people protesting against their government's handling of the housing situation. The best the tabloids have come up with has been someone who was uncomfortable because the demo went past their terrace. Oh, and the UK tourists "targeted by road rage" in their hire car... who later turned out to have punched the other driver in the face first. 🙄

On the other hand, lots of UK and German tourists have been arrested for violence against other tourists and restaurant staff already this year... like every year.

Not quite the same, but...

When I was still teaching I stopped going to the annual Christmas lunch because some people were in the habit of getting ridiculously drunk.

One year, I got back after the winter break to find some of my colleagues giggling in the staffroom. A group of them had taken a bus to a young teacher's house, to continue the party. During the journey, some middle-aged women had apparently started to tut at them.

One of the male teachers had turned round and said "Ye're all right, missus - ye're safe: we're teachers! We work at [name of rival high achool]."

I've often wondered whether the other school's HT got complaints that year.