Overtourism Changes Routines and Schedules for Residents of Gòtic, Barceloneta, and Sagrada Família

A study by URV reveals that residents of three touristified neighbourhoods in Barcelona modify routes and schedules to avoid overcrowding. The elderly and those caring for children are the most affected.

Going shopping, taking children to school, or strolling through the neighbourhood is no longer spontaneous in the Gòtic, Barceloneta, and Sagrada Família. A study by the Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV) published in the journal Tourism Planning & Development confirms that overtourism forces residents in these areas to plan their daily movements.

The research is part of the VISITMOB project and is authored by Willian Cerino and Aaron Gutiérrez from the Department of Geography at URV, along with Marta Benages-Albert from the Universitat Internacional de Catalunya. The work is based on 44 street interviews with residents, a methodology known as walk-along that involves accompanying participants on their usual routes.

The results show that many residents have adopted strategies to avoid congestion. Some change their routes to avoid particularly crowded streets or squares; others adjust their schedules for going to the supermarket, walking, or going to the beach during times of lower tourist influx.

“Some spaces that were previously perceived as community living areas are now experienced as tourist territory, that is, zones primarily oriented towards visitor consumption and less towards the daily needs of those who live there,” explains Aaron Gutiérrez, a researcher in the Department of Geography.

This transformation generates, according to the study, a feeling of loss of personal space and displacement of the local population.

The impact is not uniform. In the Sagrada Família, the pressure is concentrated around the basilica and the nearest streets. In Barceloneta, tourist flows are clustered in areas adjacent to the waterfront and in the streets leading to it. In the Gòtic, the presence of visitors is more widely distributed throughout the network of narrow streets and the pedestrian nature of the neighbourhood.

The elderly, those who have lived in the area longer, and those with caregiving responsibilities, especially those travelling with children, describe the most difficulties. Avoiding groups of visitors, rental bikes, or scooters increases discomfort and the perception of insecurity during their usual journeys.

The interviews also indicate that large groups make it difficult to walk on sidewalks, cross streets, or use bike lanes. The problem is not just the number of visitors, but how they move: in groups, with unpredictable trajectories, and occupying much of the passage spaces.

Another noted effect is that squares, parks, and main streets cease to function as neighbourhood meeting points and become zones of tourist transit. Some residents also associate the concentration of visitors with a higher incidence of thefts or petty crimes in very crowded areas, although the study does not identify scenes of structural violence.

The work is part of the research line of the VISITMOB project, which analyses how tourist mobility conditions daily life in urban destinations. The authors point out that these adaptations reveal a profound transformation in the relationship between residents and their neighbourhood.