A YouTube travel blogger visited the Spanish city which wants British tourists to stay away – and was left shocked by one thing.
YouTuber Ben Morris jetted off to the iconic city of Barcelona, which was seen a sharp rise in protests from local residents against overtourism as they fired water pistols at visitors.
There have also been stickers saying ‘tourists go home’ popping up all over the city.
Ben said he reckons he and some other tourists were put in a dark area in the back of a local tapas restaurant.
He told his YouTube channel: “I felt the locals were treating me differently as a tourist to the other locals.
“I went to a local tapas restaurant, there were loads of free tables in the front of the window where it’s nice and light and a nice place to sit.
“Myself and another couple of tourists got put on a table in the back of the restaurant in a dark area.”
Locals sparked chaos back in June when they drenched tourists with water pistols as they urged them to ‘go home’.
Some 2,800 protesters attended the march, calling for a new economic approach that would see tourist numbers in the capital of the Catalonia region dramatically reduced.
Signs reading “Tourists go home,” and “Barcelona is not for sale,” were held up as furious locals focused their ire on local tourist hotspots.
Diners at restaurants in the area were also sprayed with water, as they chanted: “Tourists out of our neighbourhood.”
Ben put forward his own theory why tourists might not be that popular with some of the locals.
He said: “The price of hotels in the city is part of the reason why locals want us tourists to f*** off basically, which is fair enough.
“But I don;t think people are going to stop coming to Barcelona anytime soon.
“It’s a strange feeling to be in a city where you know a lot of the locals don’t want you there.
“It’s clear to see when you go to Barcelona, this place is a full of tourists. Almost every street you go down there are tourists everywhere, especially around the city centre.”
