Attacked with aqua weapons and hatred, the tourist-trip-home season is on once again

The conflict over tourism is starting anew, with COVID-19 quarantines formally in the rearview window. Anti-travel attacks ranging from the defacement of some private jets at Britain’s Stansted Airport to an attempt to block US airports and an attempt to stop Israelis from visiting the Maldives were familiar in 2024.

What if they gave the Olympics and no one came here? Despite the violence, that certainly won’t be the case in Paris this summer, even though many Europeans are declaring they don’t need a vacation.

In the US, Maui is still recovering from the unfortunate fire that killed 102 people and destroyed pristine Lahaina. Even though the Maui Financial Building Board says the island’s customer business contributes about $4 out of every $5 generated there, a tender lodge assistant said that while in Hawaii, “You are more or less likely to dislike tourists. Are ready for it.” Such attitudes, as well as the Hawaiian Tourism Authority’s ambivalence toward tourism, have led to many ways in which tourists, no matter how respectful, are unwelcome.

The unedited information from the anti-tourist portal is that Barcelona’s citizens attacked foreign diners with water weapons. Protesters also placed crime scene tape at the entrances to the lodge and café.

Future Novel handled this as a larger comic story. “Thousands of angry Barcelona residents took to the streets at the weekend to take part in a mass tourism protest in the Spanish city. His weapon of choice? The humble water pistol.

“Video footage shows protesters throwing water from colored pistols at travelers dining in Las Ramblas, a tourist-heavy district. As drenched tourists fled awkwardly, Catalans were seen chanting “tourists go home” and using red tape to seal off entry points to hotels and restaurants. Other protesters held signs that read, “Tourism kills cities.”

Barcelona’s guests did not find the ‘protest’ so pleasant or funny. “Tourists enjoying a good meal in one of the world’s most popular cities have been attacked by locals as overtourism reaches its peak,” one file noted. BBC pictures showed 2,800 protesters descending on tourists, shooting at them with aqua pistols and chasing them out of restaurants and cafes.

In the photographs, the proportion of tourists selected for attack appears to be a matter of concern and suspicion. Was this a terrorist attack? What did they spill? Why? Did I do one thing wrong? Choose the maximum option, rather than struggle again, which could make a bad situation even worse.

Within the US, spraying aqua on a crowd could possibly represent an assault.

Protests occurred when the local government increased taxes on tourists and announced the end of temporary leases within five years. The local government says housing prices in Barcelona have risen 68% in the past decade. They blame temporary rentals like Airbnb, but protesters also target hotels, restaurants and individual tourists.

Dates, short-term leases, and the negative lack of certainty, drive up rental costs in Barcelona, ​​forcing tourists to take up restaurateurs’ places, waitresses’ handbags, and billions of rupees in the city’s financial system. In Barcelona, ​​26 million tourists will spend 13.8 billion euros in 2023.

Unemployment in Spain is 11.3%, and unemployment among youth 20-24 is 25%. But the tourism sector accounts for 12.6% of Spanish jobs, or 3,018,820 people, 2.1% more than the previous generation.

Those who took to the streets to terrorize tourists clearly do not agree with Spain’s Trade and Tourism Minister, Jordi Herrú. He said, “The tourism business is growing not only quantitatively, as the HIT 2023 Report of Visits and Spending in the Tourism Sector demonstrates, but also – and this is extra noteworthy – qualitatively, with better jobs linked to the tourism sector. Plus, low short-term office fees and a better selection of salaried employees with permanent commitments.

Barcelona is not the only anti-tourism holiday destination in Europe. The Telegraph recently assessed how hostile various venues in the ECU were towards British guests.

On a scale of one to ten, Corsica and Provence were rated a 2, Capri a 3, and strangely, tourist-packed Tourist Places in Sardinia was once only a 4. Tenerife was once a 5, and Venice and Kraków in Croatia were 6 out of 10. Amsterdam and Barcelona. At boiling point, 7 out of 10 were disillusioned with overtourism. Majorca, at 8 out of 10, leads the dissatisfaction checklist.

In Majorca, ‘hardly a week passes without anti-tourist demonstrations.’ In May, more than 10,000 people marched in protest against tourism and lack of affordable housing. Every other anti-tourism protest will take place in Majorca on Sunday, July 21.

Marga Prohens, President of the Balearic Islands, said, “Exactly because we love tourism and believe in our economic model, the time has come to set the limit.” A tourist tax and a ban on large cruise ships are on the schedule. Venice did the same, charging a rate of roughly $5.37 on the busiest 29 days.

However, only about 50,000 people live in Venice, a group comparable to that of tourists at peak times. In contrast, Barcelona is home to 1.7 million people, including 432,000 foreigners or 25%. Are foreign nationals, including 43% with higher education, planning for residence?

Sadly, anti-tourism activism can also be consistent with prejudice. This spring the federal government of the Maldives decided to bar all Israeli tourists from the native islands. About 11,000 Israelis visited the Maldives in the last generation, accounting for only 0.6% of total tourist arrivals. The Maldives is a small Islamic republic of a thousand coral islands, known for its secluded sandy white beaches and turquoise lagoons.

Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu pledged to “ban Israeli passports.” Family anger over the conflict in Gaza (triggered by a Hamas attack on October 7 that killed more than 1,200 Israelis) was cited.

On 10 June, the Maldivian Parliament introduced a bill to amend the immigration law to restrict access to Israeli passport holders and Israelis with dual citizenship. On the other hand, Maldivian sources said it would be difficult to create a block to discriminate only against Israeli Jews, as more than 2 million Muslims also live in Israel.

An unnamed local businessman said the symbol of the Maldives as a safe haven for crowds of all religions and nationalities could be torn down. The ban on Israelis ‘could promote the perception that anti-Semitism or religious extremism is a threat to foreign tourists.’

Or as an explanation of why the novel says, “Maldives imposing sanctions on Israelis is outrageous.” President Mohammad Muizzu cannot claim to be on the right side of history while adhering to the textbook definition of bigotry.

The case hurt the family’s critical community members. In my opinion, paying hundreds of bucks for a 24 hour, 32 minute flight and advice from a discriminating park is not my goal. It doesn’t matter how good the lodges, beaches, browsing or scuba diving are in the Maldives.

Global development and respect for different cultures are important parts of tourism’s contribution. The direct contribution of international, travel and tourism to gross domestic product was US$7.7 trillion in 2022, accounting for a significant 7.6 per cent of the overall world GDP.

Despite this, the travel business is not invincible. Failures like COVID are one thing, attacking travelers because they want to seek help from your country is something else.

Barcelona, ​​a charming city with a welcoming tradition, is in danger of becoming the punchline in a clichéd Yogi Berra comic story. “It’s so crowded that no one goes there anymore.”