Road to Park Güell blocked in protest against 'wild touristification'

The platform Recuperem el Park Güell (Let's Recover Park Güell) blocked a section of the Carretera del Carmel on Saturday morning to protest what they call the "wild touristification" of the park – designed by Antoni Gaudí – and the surrounding area.

Around 30 local residents positioned themselves in front of the coach parking lot and one of the park's main entrances, blocking vehicle access for an hour.

They demanded that Barcelona City Council convene the long-promised dialogue table with local organizations.

"All that was promised and partially implemented has been frozen until April. It's as if during these four to five months there are no tourists, the residents don't suffer any disturbances, and the workers are perfectly fine," said David Mar, spokesperson for Recuperem el Park Güell.

Mar called for a general dialogue and negotiation table on the management model of Park Güell, which he said should include all groups affected by the "wild touristification" of the park and surrounding neighborhoods. "Neighborhood associations, Park Güell employees, and even TMB bus drivers – lines such as the 24 and V19 are among the most congested in Barcelona," he added, noting that the park had over 4.5 million visitors in 2024.

"The solution must start with reducing this number to 2 million. 4.5 million is simply unsustainable," Mar said.

He also criticized the city council and first deputy mayor and Gràcia councilor Laia Bonet, saying, "They make small promises, but quickly backtrack. It's tiring and frustrating."

"Right now, it seems the only option is to leave Barcelona, but we won't give up," Mar said.

"If anyone should leave, it's the city council managers. Let them go to Port Aventura – they'd probably do a much better job there."

Reduce visitor numbers

In October, Barcelona City Council approved a plan to reduce the number of visitors allowed at Park Güell by 500,000 before 2027, lowering the current 4.5 million tickets to 4 million in a gradual process over the next two years.

Podcast

In our first video podcast, recorded in September, Filling the Sink looks at the latest strategy to make tourism work for the people who live here too: a shift toward so-called quality tourism.

 

Press play below to listen to Quality tourism in Barcelona – promise or illusion?, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or Spotify.