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.

We have just got back from majorca and went to Palma and Palma Nova. Didn't see any issues at all

Me too. Disgraceful behaviour by these Spanish people. Thank goodness Brits do not walk around London doing the same to them.

DS 19 is off these this summer - will have a word with him about cancelling, not much of a holiday with such hostile people around.

I do agree that people have a right to protest if tourism is having a negative impact on their homes- I just disagree with an approach that could cause distress or alarm

They really dislike the Dutch in the southern tourist towns as they spend hardly anything and have weekly shopping deliveries from home.

Sorry I see many have mentioned the Dutch...🇳🇱

18 year old DD and friend went to Barcelona last week and had a great time.

They're just looking for something to protest. It's young people with nice hair cuts having fun pretending to fire at an enemy.

The real problem is air BnB ruining the town for locals. I used to live in a touristy city and it's annoying in August, but part of the price you pay to live somewhere beautiful. What really bothered me was being priced out town by Airbnb. By the time I left three out of the eight flats in my block were Airbnb. Not only increased the price but was a nightmare to live, constant partying in the shared garden, loud talking as people lent on my window to smoke, suitcase wheeling at every hour of the day.

We used to laugh when we lived in the countryside in France, English tourists would arrive and immediately buy armfuls of baguettes and croissants, Dutch tourists would unpack horrible plastic Dutch bread and horrible plastic gouda from their cars and eat it all week.

We've been to Barcelona in Spring. Lovely city, beautiful sights.

No direct trouble from the locals ... but hospitality was very poor in some places - even to non tourist ones. It felt a bit like give us your money and we'll provide the bare minimum. I can't recommend that city. One thing we noticed was that there was a high police presence....
I also went Greece & Athens recently no issues at all.

I understand that the local people are priced out of their homes. I am all for the tourist taxes for rooms and flats.

I also think that in may places tourism is the local economy. Like it or not, tourists keep may locals in employment.

People are being so unfair to the Dutch. Some of their Gouda is absolutely delicious!

We've just been holidaying in Languedoc Rousillion - although not in areas that popular with English or US tourists.

People have been very friendly and welcoming, mostly French spoken and people were patient with my poor grammar. Many people were keen to try their English pleasantries but at the very least a basic grasp of French was needed to get around day to day.

We had one comedy moment where we had to mediate for a young British determinedly trying to order an Aperol Spritz in English in the most traditional of French bars (think pastis, vin ordinaire, one beer pump and several grizzled old men watching the football on TV and smoking like chimneys)

We find generally - be polite and respectful, spend money in local places and don't treat everywhere like an extension of your hotel or holiday resort. Then things will be fine.

Out of interest, where in the Languedoc did you visit?

Go to France every year. Spend a fortune.

Don't get drunk and shouty and people are generally lovely!

@MademoiselleFrenglish Beziers and then we pootled along the coast and spent a few days in and around Sete.

There are English tourists of course (we are them!), many were on canal holidays. Just not the hordes and hordes that Spain gets and Beziers city itself was very low key.

Sete is a bit more touristy these days as they are increasingly hosting music festivals that attract an international crowd. But from chatting to the locals they seem to reserve their anti tourist sentiment for French visitors from the North (particularly Paris).

Oh how funny, that's where I'm from! Béziers has been quieter in recent years, which is a pity as the mayor has really improved the town over the past few years. Glad you enjoyed it though! Did you visit Pézenas too? It's wonderful there, my favourite place.

I can't say I usually enjoy Sète, but I don't go there often. Marseillan and Gruissan are a bit more low key and prettier imo.

I can confirm that it's the "Parisians" that everyone can't stand down here. The tourists of any nationality are usually very pleasant, I never hear any complaints about them, other than the Dutch who everyone agrees are a bit cheap hahaha.

We liked Beziers a lot. We spent a few days there - went along the canal, wandered around the town and went to the Thursday wine festival. It seemed a well loved little city, despite parts of it clearly having seen better days.

Interesting about Sete, we love Sete a lot and go often. The energy and slight chaos is what appeals - I am from similar fishing/holiday places on the Kent coast so it feels a bit like coming home.

I support protests against over tourism - though not this tactic - as it is ruining places for locals and tourists alike. Has made me rethink Barcelona trip in Autumn, not because it wouldn't be lovely, but because I would feel I am contributing to the problem. Had a technically wonderful holiday in Cornwall, but too much cognitive dissonance for me, seeing all the second homes and rentals dominating the beautiful villages. Agree about the Cotswold villages and also towns like St Ives. There's too many of us fortunate enough to be able to take too many holidays (appreciate for some people holidays are a rarity, but I know young adults who go away with parents, with their partner, with their sports team and with their friends all in one year, often to places like St Ives and Barcelona...). I think AirBnB has accelerated the issue and laws need to limit this, plus flights and accommodation be taxed to reflect the cost to society.

It's definitely a well loved city and has had massive improvements over the past decade. I grew up there and it used to be fairly rough around the edges and some areas have stayed the same, but overall it's a really nice place to be. The nightlife is slowly getting better too! They've just restarted the "Sons et Lumières" on the Madeleine square (projection of a sound and lights show on the church) and I'm hoping to go see it soon.

Yes it's definitely slight chaos, but they have some great bars and the jousting there is always amazing, much better than in other coastal towns!

We saw the Sons et Lumieres - it was great!

I'm jealous! I rented an apartment for a few weeks just off the Madeleine so had the perfect view, but left the night before it started! I did see the set up, though, the technicians were still out there at 4am running it in loops to make sure it was perfect. Now I just need to see it with the music! A friend of mine is one of the matadors that they show at some point. Small world! 😊

All over the world there are places really struggling with over tourism. The problem isn’t that people go are travellings but that too many people are going to the same few places.

In particular there seems to be a real problem with people wanting to get the exact same Instagram/tiktok shot from the exact same spot in huge numbers.

Whether that’s people trying to film themselves on that escalator in Barcelona, or taking shots at that Lawson at Fujikawaguchiko or wanting to go to that beach in Mallorca, it’s creating huge concentrations of people in the same place where locals are just trying to go about their daily life.

when I was younger I did a lot of backpacking. One year after visiting home from a southern hemisphere summer I was heading back with the beginning of a really horrible flu. I’d taken my first connecting flight to find I was totally bunged up when I landed, could barely hear or keep my eyes open in the waiting lounge. I was an early 20s woman alone, the staff so horrible to me as I was acting quite slow because I was coming down with something. Anyway at one point looking for my boarding pass I got frustrated and emptied my bag out, one of the security staff picked my Irish passport up and said O Your Irish not English, they moved me forward with smiles and even got someone to get me a drink. After that I had flashbacks of times I’d travelled on my Irish passport compared to my English. Massive difference in attitudes globally.

Unfortunately English tourists haven’t done themselves any favours. Everywhere I’ve traveled there has always been that whole larger lout, hooligan, out to get a shag and general entitlement stigma to English holiday makers.

I live in a tourist destination that is often recommended on here and have noticed "Tourist go home" graffiti recently. I think a lot of it is a trend rather than a real protest. I mean, I do think there is probably too much tourism but this sort of a protest has spread due to social media.

Could freedom of movement also be an issue in Spain? Have they pulled a report on the figures? 26 other countries allowed to live, work, buy homes as if they are Spaniards taking homes, using facilities as if they were locals.

Found the pic!