“Tourists go home” — this was the reigning sentiment in Barcelona over the weekend as thousands of locals thronged the streets of their vibrant city to make their displeasure known to the tourists passing through. Their problem? Too many tourists, as much inflation and too little space.

Right off the bat, overtourism is not a new concocted phenomenon from the land of the Spaniards. Barcelona may have made the global news owing to their recently assumed aggressive stance against tourists but they are not the first who are grappling with the impact of being an oft-visited tourist destination. What is this brimming fiasco then all about?

As per the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), prior to COVID-19, tourism accounted for 10.4% of the global GDP. The figure has seen a slight decline since then, standing at 9.1% for last year. Speaking of Barcelona alone, the pre-COVID era saw the city reportedly clock in €12 billion from just tourism. What then, could possibly be the city’s problem with tourists arriving daily by the thousands, ready to spend their money and contribute to the economy?

As per a National Geographic report, overtourism is best understood as “the spiraling numbers of visitors taking a toll on cities, landmarks and landscapes”. While this may not sound like a ‘problem’ warranting an orchestrated