Barcelona tourism boom: Pros and cons
How Tourism helped improve ailing economy and side effects of Mass Tourism
The latest report from the Catalan Ministry of Tourism says that 16.7 Million registered tourists have visited Catalonia in 2014 for holidays, with each one spending an approximate 900 Euros during their stay, that's a 7.2% increase on the 2013 figures and it makes tourism account for 7.5 % of the regional GDP.
The news has been hailed as a lifeline for the ailing economy of the north-eastern Iberian region but a closer look reveals that the positive results are the outcome of years of planning and reform to attract more visitors to Catalonia. City officials and Planners attribute the success of Barcelona as a gateway to Catalan tourism to the 1992 Olympic Games and the huge campaign to put Barcelona on the map of global Tourism. But there is a dark spot on the picture: the growing discomfort by local residents vis a vis mass tourism and inconsiderate visitors as well as the gentrification of the city and the speculation on real estate agencies that buy out old buildings forcing low income residents out.
Watch this feature by Press TV's correspondent in Barcelona, Kusai Kedri to find out more.
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