Editing Barcelona (section)

=== Tourism ===
[[File:14-08-05-barcelona-RalfR-022.jpg|thumb|left|Part of the beach promenade and the beach of ''La Barceloneta'' towards [[Port Olimpic]]]]
[[File:Beaches of Barcelona, Spain (51226454918).jpg|thumb|left|Beaches of Barcelona]]

Barcelona was the 20th-most-visited city in the world by international visitors and the fifth most visited city in Europe after London, Paris, Istanbul and Rome, with 5.5&nbsp;million international visitors in 2011.<ref>{{cite web |title=Top 100 Cities Destination Ranking |date=21 January 2013 |url=http://blog.euromonitor.com/2013/01/top-100-cities-destination-ranking.html |publisher=blog.euromonitor.com |access-date=24 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160301191705/http://blog.euromonitor.com/2013/01/top-100-cities-destination-ranking.html |archive-date=1 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> By 2015, both Prague and Milan had more international visitors.<ref>{{cite web |title=Irresistible cities: World's 25 top tourism destinations |date=28 January 2016 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/most-visited-cities-euromonitor-2016/index.html |publisher=CNN |access-date=24 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407100200/http://edition.cnn.com/2016/01/28/travel/most-visited-cities-euromonitor-2016/ |archive-date=7 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> With its popular tree-lined pedestrian street, [[La Rambla, Barcelona|Les Rambles]] (Las Ramblas), Barcelona is ranked the most popular city to visit in Spain.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://gospain.about.com/od/topspanishcities/a/topspanishcity.htm |title=Best Spanish Cities |publisher=Gospain.about.com |date=25 March 2014 |access-date=30 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410225548/http://gospain.about.com/od/topspanishcities/a/topspanishcity.htm |archive-date=10 April 2014}}</ref>

Barcelona is an internationally renowned tourist destination, with numerous recreational areas, one of the best beaches in the world,<ref name=NationalGeographic/><ref name="discoverychannel">Movie "Worlds Best Beaches", Discovery Channel 2005</ref> mild and warm climate, historical monuments, including eight UNESCO [[World Heritage Site]]s, 519 hotels {{as of|2016|March|lc=y}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tripadvisor.es/Hotels-g187497-Barcelona_Catalonia-Hotels.html |title=Los 10 mejores hoteles en Barcelona 2016 – TripAdvisor – Precios y opiniones |work=tripadvisor.es |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323075044/https://www.tripadvisor.es/Hotels-g187497-Barcelona_Catalonia-Hotels.html |archive-date=23 March 2016}}</ref> including 35 five-star hotels,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tripadvisor.es/Hotels-g187497-zfc5-Barcelona_Catalonia-Hotels.html |title=10 mejores hoteles de 5 estrellas en Barcelona – TripAdvisor |work=tripadvisor.es |access-date=23 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160407073227/https://www.tripadvisor.es/Hotels-g187497-zfc5-Barcelona_Catalonia-Hotels.html |archive-date=7 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> and developed tourist infrastructure.

Due to its large influx of tourists each year, Barcelona, like many other tourism capitals, has to deal with pickpockets, with wallets and passports being commonly stolen items. Despite its moderate pickpocket rate, Barcelona is considered one of the safest cities in terms of security and personal safety,<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-safest-cities-in-the-world-2015-1 |title=20 Of The Safest Cities In The World |newspaper=Business Insider |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161224161443/http://www.businessinsider.com/the-20-safest-cities-in-the-world-2015-1 |archive-date=24 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> mainly because of a sophisticated policing strategy that has dropped crime by 32% in just over three years and has led it to be considered the 15th safest city in the world by ''[[Business Insider]]'' in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/the-15-safest-cities-in-the-world-2016-12 |title=The 15 safest cities in the world |newspaper=Business Insider |access-date=12 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208023104/http://uk.businessinsider.com/the-15-safest-cities-in-the-world-2016-12/#15-barcelona-7516-three-years-ago-the-barcelona-city-council-decided-to-increase-the-police-presence-on-the-streets-and-in-the-subway-the-strategy-has-yielded-results-with-crime-falling-by-32-1 |archive-date=8 December 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Street art in Barcelona 02.jpg|thumb|Street art rejecting tourists]]
While tourism produces economic benefits, according to one report,{{Citation needed|reason=Which report?|date=July 2020}} the city is "overrun [by] hordes of tourists". In early 2017, over 150,000 protesters warned that tourism is destabilizing the city. Slogans included "Tourists go home", "Barcelona is not for sale" and "We will not be driven out". By then, the number of visitors had increased from 1.7&nbsp;million in 1990 to 32 million in a city with a population of 1.62&nbsp;million, increasing the cost of rental housing for residents and overcrowding the public places. While tourists spent an estimated €30&nbsp;billion in 2017, they are viewed by some as a threat to Barcelona's identity.<ref>{{cite news |last=Burgen |first=Stephen |date=25 June 2018 |title='Tourists go home, refugees welcome': why Barcelona chose migrants over visitors |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jun/25/tourists-go-home-refugees-welcome-why-barcelona-chose-migrants-over-visitors |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902145924/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jun/25/tourists-go-home-refugees-welcome-why-barcelona-chose-migrants-over-visitors |archive-date=2 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

A May 2017 article in the British online daily ''[[The Independent]]'' included Barcelona among the "Eight Places That Hate Tourists the Most" and included a comment from Mayor [[Ada Colau]], "We don't want the city to become a cheap souvenir shop", citing Venice as an example.<ref name=coffey/> To moderate the problem, the city has stopped issuing licenses for new hotels and holiday apartments; it also fined AirBnb €30,000. The mayor has suggested introducing a new tourist tax and setting a limit on the number of visitors.<ref name=coffey>{{cite news |last=Coffey |first=Helen |date=15 May 2017 |title=Eight Places That Hate Tourists the Most |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/places-hate-tourist-the-most-countries-ban-visitors-venice-thailand-amsterdam-japan-onsen-santorini-a7733136.html |work=The Independent |location=London |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180903191513/https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/places-hate-tourist-the-most-countries-ban-visitors-venice-thailand-amsterdam-japan-onsen-santorini-a7733136.html |archive-date=3 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> One industry insider, Justin Francis, founder of the [[responsibletravel.com|Responsible Travel]] agency, stated that steps must be taken to limit the number of visitors that are causing an "overtourism crisis" in several major European cities. "Ultimately, residents must be prioritised over tourists for housing, infrastructure and access to services because they have a long-term stake in the city's success", he said.<ref>{{cite news |last=Hunt |first=Ellen |date=17 July 2018 |title=Residents in tourism hotspots have had enough. So what's the answer? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jul/17/residents-in-tourism-hotspots-have-had-enough-so-whats-the-answer |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902150429/https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2018/jul/17/residents-in-tourism-hotspots-have-had-enough-so-whats-the-answer |archive-date=2 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> "Managing tourism more responsibly can help", Francis later told a journalist, "but some destinations may just have too many tourists, and Barcelona may be a case of that".<ref>{{cite news |last=Dogshun |first=Joe |date=7 March 2018 |title=Europe's beauty spots plot escape from the too-many-tourists trap |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/07/europes-beauty-spots-plot-escape-from-the-too-many-tourists-trap |work=The Guardian |location=London |access-date=3 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180901191835/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/mar/07/europes-beauty-spots-plot-escape-from-the-too-many-tourists-trap |archive-date=1 September 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>