@@benmorris Done! Finally hit that "subscribe" after watching a bunch of your videos. Now, hope to catch-up on as many of your previous vlogs as possible 🙂
The majority do not hate tourists, and the anger is mainly directed towards the tourist rental industry, especially in the centre and in neighbourhoods such as gracia where increasingly high rents are driving local people out of these areas
That's when you go back to your employer and explain to them that the cost of living is going up and you're going to either need a raise or start seeking employment with someone who pays a living wage.
La mayoría de gente en las áreas turísticas desprecia a los turistas, especialmente los que trabajan con ellos y por una buena razón. Para el resto dificultad la vida, el precio de las viviendas y da bastante "cringe" veros especialmente a ingleses
The fact is that you came to Barcelona and the only local food you tried was the tapas and the paella (which is a valencian recipe, not catalan). Look at the cafés you visited: they could be in Barcelona or in Paris, or London, or Milan… The tourist industry is erasing Barcelona’s identity, you visited a theme park area that is now too expensive or too crowded for the neighbors to use them. Because La Boqueria or Park Güell are not attractions, they’re literaly a park and a market, which the neighbours have lost entirely. Also, expats come here with high salaries, they occupy the resources but don’t pay taxes here, the prices of households grow without limit because politics haven’t regulated it as it should and lifetime citizens of Barcelona have to move out. And the worse part is that a vast majority of expats don’t give a damn about local culture, languages or even the neighbors. So yeah, Barcelona needs tourists but maybe not this crazy amount of tourists (the quality of life in the city has decreased a lot because tourism is a cheap industry, specially party tourism). And expats are ok as long as they behave as human beings and not as colonizers that just want to have a nice flat near the beach at any cost.
Tapas are not from Valencia, are from all Spain, is our food. Barcelona is the most famous city and visited in Spain because their monuments are beautiful. Another thing that is important is t´the history of Barcelona, in the Spain history Barcelona is awesome to see. Catalonia and catalan is very important and famous for the rest of the world
I'm from the UK, but have lived in Spain for nearly 7 years. It's not that the city or country wants no tourists. Some cities just get to breaking points in summer especially Barcelona & Palma. The rise in Airbnb properties and prices has made day to day life very hard. There are similar problems in other cities in Europe though.
Ok but they made it very clear they don’t want tourists. I was gonna book my flight to arrive in Barcelona in order to travel to Switzerland from there, but I’m afraid of even arriving at the airport. This is basically something they did to themselves.
@@lyriclanguages3780that is absolutely ridiculous, Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited and did not have a single problem with a local whilst I was there- some people from these tourist hotspots not liking tourists due to personal experience will always be a thing- go and live your own experiences
@@MarcusBeasley7I think neither you or the writer is writing anything ridiculous. Barcelona is spectacular but the spectacularity can get ruined by overtourism depending on your personality and the season you travel there. There are many places like this like for example Paris, NYC, Washington D.C., Venice, Rome. Other super spectacular cities can have the spectacularity ruined by other things like Bangkok by the super hectic and reckless environment (overtourism too), or Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City by being not the safest, or Angkor Wat by being in a third world country with extreme heat (don’t except Cambodia to have lots of air conditioning or hygienic ice cream/cold drink places. Third world countries come with consequences like poor road safety, diseases, unhygienic conditions, beggars/pickpocketers/scammers, or the shock of seeing extreme poverty).
Living in a tourist city can be a pain but it’s what you sign up for or they should leave. I live in Miami and right now Nov - Dec is awfully crowded due to people here escaping the winters, Latin American tourists or they come here visiting family, snowbirds, and a bunch of events that happen these two months. But it is what it is..
I was born and raised in Barcelona. Having lived all my life here, I understand why some residents dislike tourism so much. It’s become such a gentrified city that even most of the newer buildings are flats for tourists and that diminishes the chances for locals to find decent housing options (among other issues that the youth, mostly, is facing). Also prices keep getting more expensive for locals as certain places become more known to those who want to explore the city and not only due to inflation. Having said all of this, I like seeing how people appreciate my city and want to visit it because it’s got a different and unique aura to any other place I’ve been to. It’s definitely a place I’d like to travel to if I weren’t Barcelonian. You could say I’m biased and yes, I am, it’s my home after all haha. I’d say (and I’m guessing many locals would agree with me) that tourists are welcome here as long as they respect our neighborhoods and don’t disrupt local activities. Please don’t come here merely to party too hard to the point that you leave the city dirty and the sole reason why you travel to Barcelona is the nightlife. It’s definitely one of the bigger problems with tourism these days and you’d be contributing to this issue. If you’re a foreigner and you want to come here and visit Barcelona, trust me, nobody will hate you unless you really get into trouble and don’t leave the city the same way you found it to start with. You guys are welcome here if you want to visit the city and discover this wonderful place!
@@SadBeautifulTragicTraducciones da igual las buenas intenciones de cada turista individual. La masa turística y el negocio que se forma alrededor de ellos arrasa con los barrios y los residentes...Tu vivies en Barcelona y yo en Baleares.
Ben I think the video is great, but I also think that you lacked some other points of view. Go ask the people in the centric neighborhoods why do they find their doors full of trash and pee from people going to the clubs nearby. Or the younger local people who have lived all their life here, like me, and can't afford rent, and we will have to leave the city in which we have grown. One of the problems is that Barcelona is becoming literally a tourist-made city, with no opportunities for locals and it's absolutely overcrowded. I'm missing a lot of things that we can talk about, because there are many related to tourism. Just wanted to make things a little bit clearer for people to understand.
As someone from BCN, we don't hate tourists, we love tourists, we hate the tourist industry that is reaching a point where they make our life hard as hell in our own city just so they can make money out of our homeland.
Barcelona doesn’t hate tourists. There are some residents that have a problem with so many tourists, which is understandable. But the majority of residents are nice, open to tourists and proud to live in such a beautiful city that is on top of all must see lists!
Almost all the hate is related to housing costs. If tourists stayed at hotels they would not disrupt the housing stock and locals would not be pissed about being unable to afford housing. The prevalence of Airbnb/vacation rentals means there are thousands of housing units which are no longer available for local to live in. This is a cancer on the local society and it needs limits to ensure it doesn't create a housing shortage for locals. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Goes to barcelona and doesnt eat a single catalan dish, puts flamenco music over catalan landmarks and calls Gaudí catalan AND spanish 😂 it's not that we don't want tourists, its just that we don't want the ingnorant ones 🤠
There's so much more to the Sagrada Familia that Ben didn't mention. The outside facade of the church shows different events from the Bible. The Gothic side. And the new side shows the passion of Jesus Christ. This was done to attract people to the church and to preach the gospel without people even entering. Basically to make them aware and curious. And the inside is designed to represent a sanctuary. Because it is supposed to signify the link and connection between heaven and Earth. Hence the strain glass of also like that. It's really really intricate and every single thing has great significance
You haven't talked about the real problem directly, people are leaving their homes (or got out by police) only for the owners to put an Airbnb there. The owners rise up the prices non-stop and mostly old people are forced indirectly to leave their home. And then tourists appears as the ones who don't know this happened and rent or buy these places. It's really sad that Barcelona is losing its people.
Sure, Barcelona is suffering because the core issue is housing - short term housing, the sort of housing you and I - with immense privilege can afford. Be conscious and highlight that we all play a role in this issue, but local government also needs to utilise as it has started doing means to manage how housing stock can be used, or the city becomes only a place to take not to share. I’d like to see cover some of the issues back in your home too Ben… if you want to cover such topics, then go back home and shine a light on the British government and problems across the UK. There are endless.
I'm in Barcelona at the minute and have been here for a few days, i'm from Manchester. I've not noticed any hatred towards tourism at all and have felt accommodated everywhere i've been so far 🤷🏻♂️
I live in Manchester too but originally from Spain. You'll find that Barcelona is majority tourists and very few locals because it's too expensive to live there, most people working and employed there will be from Inland Spain not Barcelona.
I went to Barcelona this summer after not having been in 5 years when I lived there and it has changed so much. It used to be joyful and beautiful but this time felt very different. It is unbelievably crowded, tourists everywhere, trash everywhere, graffiti, homeless people, and the overwhelming feeling of being unwelcome. The city cannot cope with so many tourists. Yes they help the economy etc but the locals have been forced out of their homes as a result. Imagine you invite friends to your house, you have a good time and suddenly a bunch more people arrive at the door, you welcome them hesitantly but hey it’s fine, and then more show up and more again and suddenly they’re taken over and force you out of your own home. Of course you won’t be happy especially if they’re not respectful either or have just come to party and not appreciate your values and history. Tbh I’m not sure what the solution is but something needs to change.
@@seanjamescameron I guess I don't look like a spaniard then🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I truly hallucinate with some comments...mass immigration makes people confused these days
The average salary in barcelona its 1200 euros while the average rent price is 1300, while 5 years ago it was 800 an increase mainly caused by short term rentals, we do not hate tourism, but tourism make us poorer and forces us to leave the city.
It's important to consider that the city suffers a housing crisis, part of which is caused by housing being turned into short-term renting for tourists. Also, tourism, unlike other sectors such as manufacturing or banking, doesn't really translate into higher earnings for its workers. You basically end up with a city suffering London prices but earning an average Spanish salary. Locals cannot compete with tourists. That doesn't really happen in London or Paris. More housing would be the solution, since it is what is affecting locals the most. It's not that easy though because the city is surrounded by mountains and the sea. There's no more space.
We don't hate tourists individually, but I lived near Parc Güell and I can't enjoy it because it's so crowded, imagine having such a beautiful park where before there were bars, kids playing, concerts, etc. and now is just for the tourism, not to talk the rent prices in te area and in all Barcelona because of mass tourism
Mate, I think you had the tourist version of Barcelona. You should speak with real Catalan people who lives in the city and ask them his opinion about the problems that massive tourism causes to our city. I invite you to come again and know about the real Barcelona culture.
I love your "go with the flow" attitude when you are somewhere different, like you did here, and hired the electric scooter and randomly travelled around the city. I do wonder if a company like Duolingo might be interested in sponsoring future videos?
Not to sure what you’ve achieved? You went to all tourist places and said it was full of tourists? You could do the same in London, Nyc, Madrid, Paris and any other major city? I lived in London and hated tourists, so I avoided Oxford street and most tourist areas. It’s the lack of respect people have in general when they visit other cities. Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean you own the street you’re walking on or that you can behave in a certain way. Sadly Barcelona is the target for many young groups to party, this is where the problems start. Again behavior dictates how people are perceived. Just behave and be polite. It’s not rocket science.
Very true ! Obviously all the tourist attractions will be busy but I was still very surprised how busy it was in the middle of September - I also avoid places like Oxford street so it makes complete sense
@@nbzian Hey so the airbnbs and hotels really drive up prices for locals, makes it very hard to find a good place to live unless you live very far away from the city center.
@@eddiemengairbnbs, 9/10 are literally owned by local Catalans. They are 50% of the problem, it’s the funniest thing to be angry at tourists😂 They need to look at themselves and their own government first
I was in Barcelona from Australia twice this year. April/March and September/October and I stayed in a lovely guesthouse both times that was reasonable in the heart of town. July was when they had the protest against tourists. When I was there I had no issues, everyone was lovely.
Known for their love of football, it's great to see a Rugby Field in the opening scenes, it's paying off since the Spanish Rugby 7s team played Fiji in the Final in Dubai!Cheers from New Zealand ✌️
I've been here loads of times and met the locals every time, super friendly people. Try and learn a bit of catalan dont stand out like a sore thumb and expect something without manners. You can be vigilant when it comes to the pickpockets and those white faced mimes. But embrace it, its a wonderful city.
If they want to see what happens to a tourist attraction area when tourists stop going just look at what’s left of 🇬🇧 coastal areas where tourists no longer go the places fall apart.
Barcelona was already a major city before tourism, it's very different. It would just be like Valencia, Bilbao or Zaragoza; big cities with amazing infrastructure and quality of life, but no tourist appeal whatsoever (hence cheaper)
My town Eastbourne is always overcrowded with tourists and the town centre is bustling with locals and tourists. Same as my local city Brighton and Hove always vibrant, but some seaside areas in uk like clacton on sea and weston supermare are rundown and less popular among tourists
@ I live in Folkestone mate used to be busy back in the day proper hole now just building stuff for ridiculously rich people lol locals will never have a chance of buying the homes and just round the corner from them is where all the smack heads hang about lol
I don’t watch a lot of RUclips but I really enjoy your travel & experience videos. They’re well edited and concise. You deserve a million subscribers 💯
What I dont understand is why all the tourists goes to Barcelona or Madrid when they arent exactly the most beautiful things of Spain. My country has all the biomes that exist on this planet. Go to the north looks like Ireland or Sweden. Go to the south, we have a desert and mediterranean weather. Go to some places in summer, tropical weather. All the places of Spain have their own food and culture, even language. Flamenco is only an Andalusia thing. Playing flamenco on Barcelona is like mixing pasta with ketchup. We also appreciate tourists to eat at traditional places, because demanding foreign chains of food could take out from some towns good restaurants or bars. Also, we dont have access to flats or houses, because of the tourist industry, so it is normal for people to stand up against this Airbnb business, and the only way is treating like this to foreign people. We love tourists, I actually feel proud that people come a long way to see our country, but we hate how Spain works. It isnt your fault, but we need to rebel against them somehow y'know. But if you dont want to live that, I recomend you to travel other places of Spain, not only the two big cities, which they dont really represent a lot what Spain is. Of course, you will have to move among us and respect our living ways and culture like food culture, because we are pretty traditional with our things in each part of Spain
Other towns and cities, in every country, need to be better marketed to tourists. Then this high concentration of tourists wouldn’t happen. It’s no different to people coming to “the UK” and only seeing London, never setting foot in Wales, Devon, Scotland, and many other beautiful places in the UK. It’s all a question marketing and accessibility through fast public transport.
Here in Scotland there are similar issues, especially in Edinburgh and along the highly marketed North Coast 500 route. People from Edinburgh are priced out of the city centre as landlords can make more from tourists and performers up for the festival, yet according to my sister who lives there, the money never seems to be used to improve the city for the locals. I used to work in the tourist industry in Stirling. It was busy ten years ago but numbers have doubled in some of the attractions in the past few years. The villages along the NC500 were overwhelmed the last couple of years - they are just little places, and they were finding things like 15 mile long single track roads being blocked for hours. I don't think Scotland needs any more marketing., but before they market places they should make sure they have the capacity to deal with crowds, and I genuinely think there should be some sort of limit on second homes and Airbnbs. I avoid even Stirling at the peak of the tourist season.
4:08 "being put at tables in the back of the restaurant" - same exact thing happened to me in Madrid last year when I went to an ice cream shop, thought it was super weird because there were open tables in the front and another group of customers (who were speaking perfect sounding Spanish) were not asked to sit in the back...
I have been lucky enough to have visited a lot of the worllds greatest buildings and the Sagreda Familia is by far and away the most impressive. Designed in the 19th century but on the inside could be from the 23rd century
Very informative and fascinating. Thank you for your videos - I particularly enjoyed the Chinese travel videos; exploring unseen parts of the world with your enthusiasm and knowledge are an absolute pleasure.
i dont know guys 😅 for me the guy sounds like a spaniard who studied abroad (yea maybe in netherlands,nothing extraordinary in europe) and just learned how to pronounce english words 😅 I mean u can still hear he’s spanish. Nothing sus there. For example when he says sentence “ the issue we have with the…” u can absolutely hear his spanish accent 😅
When i stayed in the Gothic Quarter last year, i struggled with the air Pollution from the cruise ships-another dark side of the tourist scene of Barcelona-Great food doe
Hi Ben, just FYI. Did you know that Nude Project, the brand on your shirt, is from Barcelona? :) Next time you should stop by there too. Hope you enjoyed your stay!
Oh you took the same train I take for work! Would have loved to show you some of the local hangouts in Barcelona and surrounding towns. Housing is a real issue, so many flats are for air b n b so not enough affordable accommodation for locals. Plus the salaries are super low in comparison with rent.
They makes bags of money from that tourists. I was there in April 2024 and didn't notice graffiti on streets. I don't know what to say. Locals are very kind back then.
we still are! some locals are just angry at the government because they dont establish regulations in the housing prices which have increased a lot because of tourism
I used to live in Mallorca, Spain and I remember when COVID lockdown happened and Mallorca and spain was drained of all money as it's economy is mostly tourism! I remember all over the island there were sighs with 'SOS TURISMO!' around all popular locations, hotels, and beaches. This is so hypocrytical as only a few years ago they were welcoming tourists. Spain is known to be a racist country '9before you come at me I am not saying all spanish people are racists, there is just a very high amount of racist attitudes, especially to british expacts. This is from my own experience ). I understand that locals are annoyed with the levels of tourists in their areas, but to be honest, Spain would be nothing without tourism. For example, most of Mallorca was still dirt tracks in the 80s and is now a bustling and succesful holiday destination. Spain's economy relies on tourism.
I live in Mallorca and I can confirm this, the hate towards the tourist is big, I have seen people throwing buckets of water to the streets from their home to make the tourists go away.
maybe you don’t see it, but your comment shows perfectly why we generally despice british people. you talk with such arrogance and a sense of superiority, like we need you to survive. we don’t. we are not your servants, don’t treat us like animals being put there for tour entertainment
I love watching your videos!!! I was actually thinking you was going to say Berlin 🙈 I’m going to Barcelona for Christmas and I’m abit worried now 🫢 maybe wasn’t the best idea.
Tourism is a benefit for all cities, Barcelona's problem is the overtourism there is, there is more tourism than the city can handle, and that ends up affecting the locals in terms of housing or salaries. Barcelona does not hate tourists, but it does bother them that they do not respect the few spaces that are left due to the gentrification of the area, and it's obvious, tourists don't care that the people of Barcelona are left homeless because they are creating temporary rentals for them. It's a horror have to change lines in the subway at the Sagrada Familia station to go to work, because the platform is always so overcrowded, and having to ignore such central meeting places because everything is so full, looking for less accessible places to have quality of life in the city is frustrating, and the tourist doesn't care about that, they care that Barcelona is receiving money from them and with that It's enough. No, it's not, that's the problem. Really sorry if they're some weird writing and typos, english is not my first lenguage.
Us people from Barcelona love tourists, dont let the media fool you, thats just a stupid generalisation. The problem is about the rent and those "tourists" that buy houses here just for holidays, making it more difficult for us to live in our own city. Dont let people think we are like that by spreading lies.
I am from Barcelona, and I have never had any issues with tourists, even though there are many. I feel that there are quite a few uncultured individuals in my city who don't realize how much money tourists contribute.
The problem with tourism is that we, the locals, have our quality of life lowered because of them. Prices rise because tourists/expats pay them. Also it's impossible to visit 'touristic places' as a local, as it is overcrowded and some places, such as parc güell, were free to access and now you have to pay a hefty fee if you are not from Barcelona city (a huge amount of people come from nearby cities to work here and spend the majority of their time in the city). Moreover, the places you went to grab a coffe are the result of gentrification, most locals can't affors to pay those prices for a coffe. There are even coffe shops with 3€ expressos in iconics neighbourhoods such as El Call. Guess who goes there. Over time local bussines have been replaced with 24/7 stores or gift shops for tourist to enjoy, not locals. If it were for me, in order to make Barcelona more affordable for the Catalans and Spanish, I would raise prices only for tourists, as Japan is starting to do, so the locals can afford rent, eating in a restaurant and groceries at a cheaper price than it's at the moment and tourists and expats have to pay accordingly to their minimum wage in a country (for example if you are norwegian and your minimum wage is 4000€ a month, pay 4x the price of anything here, as the minimum wage here is around 1000€)
Barcelona does not hate tourists, only a small minority, but this minority is very loud, the big majority of the city support tourism, is actually about we live. Everyone is welcome to Barcelona and even more if they are tourists. Tourists Welcome!
Surely a lot of the people in shot in the streets and markets are not tourists and just live there. I live in Manchester and our city centre streets are absolutely packed every weekend but you can't tell who lives there or not
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
83% of viewers not subscribed is insane 😱 Let's get that 1 million, Ben 🎉👏
tell me about it ...
@@benmorrisyou deserve 1 mil
No thanks / would rather pop in and out when there is good content
@@benmorris Done! Finally hit that "subscribe" after watching a bunch of your videos. Now, hope to catch-up on as many of your previous vlogs as possible 🙂
I don't subscribe because I think that 800k is enough.
The majority do not hate tourists, and the anger is mainly directed towards the tourist rental industry, especially in the centre and in neighbourhoods such as gracia where increasingly high rents are driving local people out of these areas
yea as a catalan, we dont really dislike tourists, but the housing companies / rental are destroying the city :|
gràcia*
That's when you go back to your employer and explain to them that the cost of living is going up and you're going to either need a raise or start seeking employment with someone who pays a living wage.
And then u wake up @@JP-ec9rl
La mayoría de gente en las áreas turísticas desprecia a los turistas, especialmente los que trabajan con ellos y por una buena razón. Para el resto dificultad la vida, el precio de las viviendas y da bastante "cringe" veros especialmente a ingleses
The fact is that you came to Barcelona and the only local food you tried was the tapas and the paella (which is a valencian recipe, not catalan). Look at the cafés you visited: they could be in Barcelona or in Paris, or London, or Milan… The tourist industry is erasing Barcelona’s identity, you visited a theme park area that is now too expensive or too crowded for the neighbors to use them. Because La Boqueria or Park Güell are not attractions, they’re literaly a park and a market, which the neighbours have lost entirely.
Also, expats come here with high salaries, they occupy the resources but don’t pay taxes here, the prices of households grow without limit because politics haven’t regulated it as it should and lifetime citizens of Barcelona have to move out. And the worse part is that a vast majority of expats don’t give a damn about local culture, languages or even the neighbors.
So yeah, Barcelona needs tourists but maybe not this crazy amount of tourists (the quality of life in the city has decreased a lot because tourism is a cheap industry, specially party tourism). And expats are ok as long as they behave as human beings and not as colonizers that just want to have a nice flat near the beach at any cost.
Having not heard catalan during the whole video has made me lose all faith
You're meshing tourists with expats, they're not the same and affect Spain differently. But yeah, other than that you're right.
Tapas are not from Valencia, are from all Spain, is our food. Barcelona is the most famous city and visited in Spain because their monuments are beautiful. Another thing that is important is t´the history of Barcelona, in the Spain history Barcelona is awesome to see. Catalonia and catalan is very important and famous for the rest of the world
¡Amén!
I'm from the UK, but have lived in Spain for nearly 7 years. It's not that the city or country wants no tourists. Some cities just get to breaking points in summer especially Barcelona & Palma. The rise in Airbnb properties and prices has made day to day life very hard. There are similar problems in other cities in Europe though.
Ok but they made it very clear they don’t want tourists. I was gonna book my flight to arrive in Barcelona in order to travel to Switzerland from there, but I’m afraid of even arriving at the airport. This is basically something they did to themselves.
@@lyriclanguages3780that is absolutely ridiculous, Barcelona is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever visited and did not have a single problem with a local whilst I was there- some people from these tourist hotspots not liking tourists due to personal experience will always be a thing- go and live your own experiences
@ you’re ridiculous lol they’re making it very clear they don’t want tourists. My concerns are valid.
@@MarcusBeasley7I think neither you or the writer is writing anything ridiculous. Barcelona is spectacular but the spectacularity can get ruined by overtourism depending on your personality and the season you travel there. There are many places like this like for example Paris, NYC, Washington D.C., Venice, Rome. Other super spectacular cities can have the spectacularity ruined by other things like Bangkok by the super hectic and reckless environment (overtourism too), or Cape Town, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City by being not the safest, or Angkor Wat by being in a third world country with extreme heat (don’t except Cambodia to have lots of air conditioning or hygienic ice cream/cold drink places. Third world countries come with consequences like poor road safety, diseases, unhygienic conditions, beggars/pickpocketers/scammers, or the shock of seeing extreme poverty).
Living in a tourist city can be a pain but it’s what you sign up for or they should leave. I live in Miami and right now Nov - Dec is awfully crowded due to people here escaping the winters, Latin American tourists or they come here visiting family, snowbirds, and a bunch of events that happen these two months. But it is what it is..
I was born and raised in Barcelona. Having lived all my life here, I understand why some residents dislike tourism so much.
It’s become such a gentrified city that even most of the newer buildings are flats for tourists and that diminishes the chances for locals to find decent housing options (among other issues that the youth, mostly, is facing). Also prices keep getting more expensive for locals as certain places become more known to those who want to explore the city and not only due to inflation.
Having said all of this, I like seeing how people appreciate my city and want to visit it because it’s got a different and unique aura to any other place I’ve been to. It’s definitely a place I’d like to travel to if I weren’t Barcelonian. You could say I’m biased and yes, I am, it’s my home after all haha.
I’d say (and I’m guessing many locals would agree with me) that tourists are welcome here as long as they respect our neighborhoods and don’t disrupt local activities.
Please don’t come here merely to party too hard to the point that you leave the city dirty and the sole reason why you travel to Barcelona is the nightlife. It’s definitely one of the bigger problems with tourism these days and you’d be contributing to this issue.
If you’re a foreigner and you want to come here and visit Barcelona, trust me, nobody will hate you unless you really get into trouble and don’t leave the city the same way you found it to start with. You guys are welcome here if you want to visit the city and discover this wonderful place!
@@SadBeautifulTragicTraducciones da igual las buenas intenciones de cada turista individual. La masa turística y el negocio que se forma alrededor de ellos arrasa con los barrios y los residentes...Tu vivies en Barcelona y yo en Baleares.
Ben I think the video is great, but I also think that you lacked some other points of view. Go ask the people in the centric neighborhoods why do they find their doors full of trash and pee from people going to the clubs nearby. Or the younger local people who have lived all their life here, like me, and can't afford rent, and we will have to leave the city in which we have grown. One of the problems is that Barcelona is becoming literally a tourist-made city, with no opportunities for locals and it's absolutely overcrowded. I'm missing a lot of things that we can talk about, because there are many related to tourism.
Just wanted to make things a little bit clearer for people to understand.
Very good points. It's hard for me to get every angle on something like this but tried to make a general video that doesn't go too in depth
@@benmorrisyou went to barcelona and ate an italian sandwich by the way 😂
@medi6892 or also the fact that the first place he goes (SYRA Coffee) has the street sign written in English
As someone from BCN, we don't hate tourists, we love tourists, we hate the tourist industry that is reaching a point where they make our life hard as hell in our own city just so they can make money out of our homeland.
El 0% de los barceloneses quieren a turistas, ni los que los timan los quieren!
Barcelona doesn’t hate tourists. There are some residents that have a problem with so many tourists, which is understandable. But the majority of residents are nice, open to tourists and proud to live in such a beautiful city that is on top of all must see lists!
"on top of all must see lists" i wouldnt go that far, i thought it was a bit crap when i went tbh
Almost all the hate is related to housing costs. If tourists stayed at hotels they would not disrupt the housing stock and locals would not be pissed about being unable to afford housing. The prevalence of Airbnb/vacation rentals means there are thousands of housing units which are no longer available for local to live in. This is a cancer on the local society and it needs limits to ensure it doesn't create a housing shortage for locals. Thanks for coming to my TED talk.
Goes to barcelona and doesnt eat a single catalan dish, puts flamenco music over catalan landmarks and calls Gaudí catalan AND spanish 😂 it's not that we don't want tourists, its just that we don't want the ingnorant ones 🤠
estava buscant aquest comentari, totalment dacord ajjajj
Literal.
There's so much more to the Sagrada Familia that Ben didn't mention. The outside facade of the church shows different events from the Bible. The Gothic side. And the new side shows the passion of Jesus Christ. This was done to attract people to the church and to preach the gospel without people even entering. Basically to make them aware and curious. And the inside is designed to represent a sanctuary. Because it is supposed to signify the link and connection between heaven and Earth. Hence the strain glass of also like that. It's really really intricate and every single thing has great significance
You haven't talked about the real problem directly, people are leaving their homes (or got out by police) only for the owners to put an Airbnb there. The owners rise up the prices non-stop and mostly old people are forced indirectly to leave their home. And then tourists appears as the ones who don't know this happened and rent or buy these places. It's really sad that Barcelona is losing its people.
Sure, Barcelona is suffering because the core issue is housing - short term housing, the sort of housing you and I - with immense privilege can afford. Be conscious and highlight that we all play a role in this issue, but local government also needs to utilise as it has started doing means to manage how housing stock can be used, or the city becomes only a place to take not to share.
I’d like to see cover some of the issues back in your home too Ben… if you want to cover such topics, then go back home and shine a light on the British government and problems across the UK. There are endless.
I'm in Barcelona at the minute and have been here for a few days, i'm from Manchester. I've not noticed any hatred towards tourism at all and have felt accommodated everywhere i've been so far 🤷🏻♂️
I live in Manchester too but originally from Spain. You'll find that Barcelona is majority tourists and very few locals because it's too expensive to live there, most people working and employed there will be from Inland Spain not Barcelona.
I went to Barcelona this summer after not having been in 5 years when I lived there and it has changed so much. It used to be joyful and beautiful but this time felt very different. It is unbelievably crowded, tourists everywhere, trash everywhere, graffiti, homeless people, and the overwhelming feeling of being unwelcome. The city cannot cope with so many tourists. Yes they help the economy etc but the locals have been forced out of their homes as a result. Imagine you invite friends to your house, you have a good time and suddenly a bunch more people arrive at the door, you welcome them hesitantly but hey it’s fine, and then more show up and more again and suddenly they’re taken over and force you out of your own home. Of course you won’t be happy especially if they’re not respectful either or have just come to party and not appreciate your values and history. Tbh I’m not sure what the solution is but something needs to change.
Ben has the hair and skin colour to make himself look more local than the locals. 😊
Tf are you talking about
@@ava-he9liall he’s saying is that Ben looks like a Spaniard, that’s all.
I wish hahahaha, getting told I look Spanish has to be the best compliment
@@seanjamescameron I guess I don't look like a spaniard then🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I truly hallucinate with some comments...mass immigration makes people confused these days
When you realise there are Spaniards who are blonde with blue eyes or Spaniards that are black, your mind will be blown!
The average salary in barcelona its 1200 euros while the average rent price is 1300, while 5 years ago it was 800 an increase mainly caused by short term rentals, we do not hate tourism, but tourism make us poorer and forces us to leave the city.
It's important to consider that the city suffers a housing crisis, part of which is caused by housing being turned into short-term renting for tourists. Also, tourism, unlike other sectors such as manufacturing or banking, doesn't really translate into higher earnings for its workers.
You basically end up with a city suffering London prices but earning an average Spanish salary. Locals cannot compete with tourists. That doesn't really happen in London or Paris. More housing would be the solution, since it is what is affecting locals the most. It's not that easy though because the city is surrounded by mountains and the sea. There's no more space.
Same thing happening in Portugal. Government welcomes them all!
Not really London prices, though. I agree it is too expensive but it's the same in a lot of places. Madrid, Paris, Amsterdam ...
Very clear explanation!
We don't hate tourists individually, but I lived near Parc Güell and I can't enjoy it because it's so crowded, imagine having such a beautiful park where before there were bars, kids playing, concerts, etc. and now is just for the tourism, not to talk the rent prices in te area and in all Barcelona because of mass tourism
the tourism problem is not a tourism problem, its a legislative problem
Mate, I think you had the tourist version of Barcelona. You should speak with real Catalan people who lives in the city and ask them his opinion about the problems that massive tourism causes to our city. I invite you to come again and know about the real Barcelona culture.
Another heater Ben - looking forward to seeing where you end up in the next one.
You may have seen on the Instagram 🇨🇳
I love your "go with the flow" attitude when you are somewhere different, like you did here, and hired the electric scooter and randomly travelled around the city. I do wonder if a company like Duolingo might be interested in sponsoring future videos?
Not to sure what you’ve achieved? You went to all tourist places and said it was full of tourists? You could do the same in London, Nyc, Madrid, Paris and any other major city? I lived in London and hated tourists, so I avoided Oxford street and most tourist areas. It’s the lack of respect people have in general when they visit other cities. Just because you are on vacation doesn’t mean you own the street you’re walking on or that you can behave in a certain way. Sadly Barcelona is the target for many young groups to party, this is where the problems start. Again behavior dictates how people are perceived. Just behave and be polite. It’s not rocket science.
Very true ! Obviously all the tourist attractions will be busy but I was still very surprised how busy it was in the middle of September - I also avoid places like Oxford street so it makes complete sense
I better not see any Barcelonians anywhere outside of Spain then 💀
Hey sorry for my fellow citizens, but most of us aren’t that stupid to go against what gives money.
Catalan
Did you not watch the video?
@@nbzian Hey so the airbnbs and hotels really drive up prices for locals, makes it very hard to find a good place to live unless you live very far away from the city center.
@@eddiemengairbnbs, 9/10 are literally owned by local Catalans. They are 50% of the problem, it’s the funniest thing to be angry at tourists😂 They need to look at themselves and their own government first
I was in Barcelona from Australia twice this year. April/March and September/October and I stayed in a lovely guesthouse both times that was reasonable in the heart of town. July was when they had the protest against tourists. When I was there I had no issues, everyone was lovely.
it's not they don't want tourists, they don't want lousy tourists, that's different
Known for their love of football, it's great to see a Rugby Field in the opening scenes, it's paying off since the Spanish Rugby 7s team played Fiji in the Final in Dubai!Cheers from New Zealand ✌️
Common Ben Morris banger
I've been here loads of times and met the locals every time, super friendly people. Try and learn a bit of catalan dont stand out like a sore thumb and expect something without manners. You can be vigilant when it comes to the pickpockets and those white faced mimes. But embrace it, its a wonderful city.
If they want to see what happens to a tourist attraction area when tourists stop going just look at what’s left of 🇬🇧 coastal areas where tourists no longer go the places fall apart.
Barcelona was already a major city before tourism, it's very different. It would just be like Valencia, Bilbao or Zaragoza; big cities with amazing infrastructure and quality of life, but no tourist appeal whatsoever (hence cheaper)
@@pastvz2781 Valencia as an example of a non-touristy place? Lol
My town Eastbourne is always overcrowded with tourists and the town centre is bustling with locals and tourists. Same as my local city Brighton and Hove always vibrant, but some seaside areas in uk like clacton on sea and weston supermare are rundown and less popular among tourists
@ I live in Folkestone mate used to be busy back in the day proper hole now just building stuff for ridiculously rich people lol locals will never have a chance of buying the homes and just round the corner from them is where all the smack heads hang about lol
Blackpool and morecambe, Scarborough. Someplaces i went as a kid 😒
I don’t watch a lot of RUclips but I really enjoy your travel & experience videos. They’re well edited and concise. You deserve a million subscribers 💯
We're not far now!
I CAN’T BELIVE YOU WERE AT MY CITY, VILADECANS HAHAHA IT’S SO RANDOM OMG WTF HAHAHAHAHHAAHHA
Literal viéndolo desde mi cama en Vila lol
ps claro q eso es donde está el aeropuerto😭😭🙏
El bocata q se comio era justo debajo de mi casa jajaja. Lo peor es que son bocafillos italianos 😂
I've been a subscriber for years. This is one of your best videos. I love Barcelona. I visited in 1997. It was much less crowded then....
Very good video, tho! Loved it! Greeting form Barcelona brother🎉
What I dont understand is why all the tourists goes to Barcelona or Madrid when they arent exactly the most beautiful things of Spain. My country has all the biomes that exist on this planet. Go to the north looks like Ireland or Sweden. Go to the south, we have a desert and mediterranean weather. Go to some places in summer, tropical weather.
All the places of Spain have their own food and culture, even language. Flamenco is only an Andalusia thing. Playing flamenco on Barcelona is like mixing pasta with ketchup.
We also appreciate tourists to eat at traditional places, because demanding foreign chains of food could take out from some towns good restaurants or bars. Also, we dont have access to flats or houses, because of the tourist industry, so it is normal for people to stand up against this Airbnb business, and the only way is treating like this to foreign people. We love tourists, I actually feel proud that people come a long way to see our country, but we hate how Spain works. It isnt your fault, but we need to rebel against them somehow y'know. But if you dont want to live that, I recomend you to travel other places of Spain, not only the two big cities, which they dont really represent a lot what Spain is. Of course, you will have to move among us and respect our living ways and culture like food culture, because we are pretty traditional with our things in each part of Spain
Other towns and cities, in every country, need to be better marketed to tourists. Then this high concentration of tourists wouldn’t happen. It’s no different to people coming to “the UK” and only seeing London, never setting foot in Wales, Devon, Scotland, and many other beautiful places in the UK. It’s all a question marketing and accessibility through fast public transport.
Here in Scotland there are similar issues, especially in Edinburgh and along the highly marketed North Coast 500 route. People from Edinburgh are priced out of the city centre as landlords can make more from tourists and performers up for the festival, yet according to my sister who lives there, the money never seems to be used to improve the city for the locals. I used to work in the tourist industry in Stirling. It was busy ten years ago but numbers have doubled in some of the attractions in the past few years. The villages along the NC500 were overwhelmed the last couple of years - they are just little places, and they were finding things like 15 mile long single track roads being blocked for hours.
I don't think Scotland needs any more marketing., but before they market places they should make sure they have the capacity to deal with crowds, and I genuinely think there should be some sort of limit on second homes and Airbnbs. I avoid even Stirling at the peak of the tourist season.
4:08 "being put at tables in the back of the restaurant" - same exact thing happened to me in Madrid last year when I went to an ice cream shop, thought it was super weird because there were open tables in the front and another group of customers (who were speaking perfect sounding Spanish) were not asked to sit in the back...
Great video mate, what camera / lens do you use? Seems quite wide? 🤔
a7siii & 16-35 f4 zeiss but sometimes I'll just film on my iphone
Barcelona looks so epic, I would love to visit one day
cool to see the places I walk by every day, but captured so professionally and beautifully
No problem, I spent a week in Barcelona and I just don't like it. Then I went to Figueros and Cadaques and I just loved it.
Interesting... why didn't you like it?
I just don't like it ... I also don't like Milan, Lucca, Genoa, Naples.
I loved Pisa, Budapest, Turin, Mantua, Verona., Lisbon.
Love your videos Ben ❤❤❤ Very informative and entertaining as well ❤
No tourists in Bolton, you should check it out.
Boltonistan
I'll add Bolton to the list hahaha
You never disappoint... Another great video. Back in my day all we had was Judith chambers on the telly 😁
Thank you Mark 🙏🏼
Love your videos been watching you for ages and I think they've got even better as you've grown up.
Wow 6 years as a subscriber 😲
The fact that we get free videos on RUclips by Ben is truly a gift; keeping knowledge and entertainment alive. 👏🤷😊
How have you not hit 1M ?!!!!! you for sure deserve it! Love your videos! 🎉
Ben, you should come to Medellín Colombia, such a wonderful city!!
Enjoyed the video 📹 Ben! Keep up the good work!
Nothing makes me smile more when I come on RUclips and I see a Ben Morris blog appear, keep it up!
🫡🫡🫡
5:07 ... 'although i'm not a huge football fan' bro forgot his first niche 😭😭
🤣🤣🤣 I loved playing Fifa, that was about it
The city needs to find a way to encourage tourism but also may sure it works well for the residents.
That's the dilemma I guess
I have been lucky enough to have visited a lot of the worllds greatest buildings and the Sagreda Familia is by far and away the most impressive. Designed in the 19th century but on the inside could be from the 23rd century
Barcelona architecture is phenomenal
Very informative and fascinating. Thank you for your videos - I particularly enjoyed the Chinese travel videos; exploring unseen parts of the world with your enthusiasm and knowledge are an absolute pleasure.
The Barca "born and raised" local towards the ends speaks a very Dutch influenced English.
I also noticed that. Doubt he is a true local.
I'm the local Brais, not Bryce, born and raised. BTW spanish parents, grandparents, pero bueno, next time I'll make sure to speak spanish and catalan
@@ShadowfinderMusic U right, I came from Mars 🤣
@@Brais-moure Tranquilo no pasa nada Brais, de verdad tu acento inglés suena muy, muy holandés.
i dont know guys 😅 for me the guy sounds like a spaniard who studied abroad (yea maybe in netherlands,nothing extraordinary in europe) and just learned how to pronounce english words 😅 I mean u can still hear he’s spanish. Nothing sus there. For example when he says sentence “ the issue we have with the…” u can absolutely hear his spanish accent 😅
Ok I have to say it, the Spanish local guy is very attractive
we really like the tourist money so keep coming! We’d miss your bills!
When i stayed in the Gothic Quarter last year, i struggled with the air Pollution from the cruise ships-another dark side of the tourist scene of Barcelona-Great food doe
What camera setup are you using?
I had a feeling you were gonna post today
The intuition .....
I love seeing your vlogs. I've shared the same experience with being sat at the back of the restaurant, my Spanish vlog 😂
It’s mostly due to all the study abroad students falling in love with the city and returning with other tourists
Hi Ben, just FYI. Did you know that Nude Project, the brand on your shirt, is from Barcelona? :) Next time you should stop by there too. Hope you enjoyed your stay!
Yeah I wanted to but didn't get a chance! Love Nude Project 💯
The problem is not the tourists is the uncontrolled tourism
Dude really takes Enron level sponsors
The tourist in Barcelona and the rising house prices is not a tourist issue, its a government issue!
I love that he taste the maravillious world of ✨Renfe rodalies✨
How can anyone hate you Ben
for real
True
Yessss! I ❤ Barcelona. Thank you for this.
Another W upload. He doesn’t miss
Big love
We don't hate tourism, we hate high rent
Oh you took the same train I take for work! Would have loved to show you some of the local hangouts in Barcelona and surrounding towns. Housing is a real issue, so many flats are for air b n b so not enough affordable accommodation for locals. Plus the salaries are super low in comparison with rent.
Sick! The man can tell a nice story 📖
Thank you brother!! 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
It's not so much overcrowding or the industry as it is that so much of the accommodation is given up to Airbnb, which means that locals are priced out
They makes bags of money from that tourists. I was there in April 2024 and didn't notice graffiti on streets. I don't know what to say. Locals are very kind back then.
we still are! some locals are just angry at the government because they dont establish regulations in the housing prices which have increased a lot because of tourism
I used to live in Mallorca, Spain and I remember when COVID lockdown happened and Mallorca and spain was drained of all money as it's economy is mostly tourism! I remember all over the island there were sighs with 'SOS TURISMO!' around all popular locations, hotels, and beaches. This is so hypocrytical as only a few years ago they were welcoming tourists. Spain is known to be a racist country '9before you come at me I am not saying all spanish people are racists, there is just a very high amount of racist attitudes, especially to british expacts. This is from my own experience ). I understand that locals are annoyed with the levels of tourists in their areas, but to be honest, Spain would be nothing without tourism. For example, most of Mallorca was still dirt tracks in the 80s and is now a bustling and succesful holiday destination. Spain's economy relies on tourism.
I live in Mallorca and I can confirm this, the hate towards the tourist is big, I have seen people throwing buckets of water to the streets from their home to make the tourists go away.
@@HarukaxYuuki it's crazy!!
maybe you don’t see it, but your comment shows perfectly why we generally despice british people. you talk with such arrogance and a sense of superiority, like we need you to survive. we don’t. we are not your servants, don’t treat us like animals being put there for tour entertainment
I love watching your videos!!! I was actually thinking you was going to say Berlin 🙈 I’m going to Barcelona for Christmas and I’m abit worried now 🫢 maybe wasn’t the best idea.
“there were so many tourists” was very funny for some reason
Same way u coudent affort acomodation in barcelona, locals cant. Because of mass tourism
I love your videos. Pls post more, every week 😅
Bro, headphones while driving is totally prohibited
The cinematic shots 😍
Barcelona, la millor ciutat del món🤩
If tourists didn’t go there, the country(city) would go downhill so fast
Legend! Your content just gets better and better!
Thank you so much ! Always trying to improve the vids
Tourism is a benefit for all cities, Barcelona's problem is the overtourism there is, there is more tourism than the city can handle, and that ends up affecting the locals in terms of housing or salaries. Barcelona does not hate tourists, but it does bother them that they do not respect the few spaces that are left due to the gentrification of the area, and it's obvious, tourists don't care that the people of Barcelona are left homeless because they are creating temporary rentals for them. It's a horror have to change lines in the subway at the Sagrada Familia station to go to work, because the platform is always so overcrowded, and having to ignore such central meeting places because everything is so full, looking for less accessible places to have quality of life in the city is frustrating, and the tourist doesn't care about that, they care that Barcelona is receiving money from them and with that It's enough. No, it's not, that's the problem.
Really sorry if they're some weird writing and typos, english is not my first lenguage.
Us people from Barcelona love tourists, dont let the media fool you, thats just a stupid generalisation.
The problem is about the rent and those "tourists" that buy houses here just for holidays, making it more difficult for us to live in our own city. Dont let people think we are like that by spreading lies.
Tourism is not the issue, its the volume of tourism that is the issue.
I am from Barcelona, and I have never had any issues with tourists, even though there are many. I feel that there are quite a few uncultured individuals in my city who don't realize how much money tourists contribute.
Your name is Dylan Griggs and you are from Barcelona? Not sure about that one mate
@ born in the us, raised in Spain
Exactly, people don't get it that Spain is not some super power that don't relay on tourism as main income
Right. They can't live in the city anymore but the rich are getting richer. Why do they complain? "I'm from Barcelona". Sure baby.
You look Spanish and I don't think they consider you a foreigner...It's better to speak Spanish and be friendly to locals!😍😍
Catalan*
In Barcelona the main language is Catalan
@@rozyfly10Štajerc aha really, wow.. ☺
What's looking Spanish? Not everyone in Spanish looks one way. Plus the moment he opened his mouth, they'd know where he's from.
I have been to Barcelona several times and I never experienced anything like this
great as always matey 😄
You need to go to Mallorca, there is a big hate for tourism (despite most of the island live from it)
Please please , visit bucharest Romania ! You are the best youtuber seriously !
People in Barcelona: We HATE BRITISH TOURISTS!
Ben: Alright guys, I'm here.
Some people in Barcelona. we don't live in a black and white world.
Stop reading the Daily Mail.
The problem with tourism is that we, the locals, have our quality of life lowered because of them. Prices rise because tourists/expats pay them. Also it's impossible to visit 'touristic places' as a local, as it is overcrowded and some places, such as parc güell, were free to access and now you have to pay a hefty fee if you are not from Barcelona city (a huge amount of people come from nearby cities to work here and spend the majority of their time in the city).
Moreover, the places you went to grab a coffe are the result of gentrification, most locals can't affors to pay those prices for a coffe. There are even coffe shops with 3€ expressos in iconics neighbourhoods such as El Call. Guess who goes there.
Over time local bussines have been replaced with 24/7 stores or gift shops for tourist to enjoy, not locals.
If it were for me, in order to make Barcelona more affordable for the Catalans and Spanish, I would raise prices only for tourists, as Japan is starting to do, so the locals can afford rent, eating in a restaurant and groceries at a cheaper price than it's at the moment and tourists and expats have to pay accordingly to their minimum wage in a country (for example if you are norwegian and your minimum wage is 4000€ a month, pay 4x the price of anything here, as the minimum wage here is around 1000€)
Barcelona does not hate tourists, only a small minority, but this minority is very loud, the big majority of the city support tourism, is actually about we live. Everyone is welcome to Barcelona and even more if they are tourists.
Tourists Welcome!
The GOAT🙏🙏
You literally look Spanish with your dark features. I swear he could be a cousin 😅 15:11
Spaniards can be blonde too.
Surely a lot of the people in shot in the streets and markets are not tourists and just live there. I live in Manchester and our city centre streets are absolutely packed every weekend but you can't tell who lives there or not