Girona is the latest Spanish spot that is reportedly joining the country's on-going "anti-mass tourism" movement. Local reports state that residents of the Catalan city have "had enough" of problems created by tourism, even setting up a local association to put pressure on the government to change practices. It comes as certain retailers in the city have been tagged with graffiti slamming mass tourism .
Called the Girona Tourism Decrease Platform (Plataforma Decreixement Turístic Girona), the group aims to tackle overdevelopment issues and Girona's "anything goes approach to tourism", as reported by The Locale Spain . The publication broke down the group's manifesto, explaining how Girona has become a "postcard" for major events like festivals throughout the years, which has been a "death sentence" for locals. The statement also slammed the influx of wealthy "expats" who have transformed parts of the city into "elitist ghettos" that disregard "people's basic needs".
As a result, the group claims that these issues have resulted in job insecurity, housing difficulties, the closure of small businesses, water restrictions and the decline of local Catalan language, according to The Locale Spain. They concluded: "As a territory, we are at the limit. As citizens, we cannot take it anymore.
" The Plataforma Decreixement Turístic Girona has reportedly proposed an implementation of a census for expats in Girona. Such a system already exists for Spain residents called the Padrón an.
