How the humble water gun became the symbol of Barcelona’s anti-tourism movement

By JOSEPH WILSON BARCELONA Spain AP A group of tourists were sitting at an outdoor table in the Spanish city of Barcelona trying to enjoy their drinks when a woman raised a cheap plastic water gun and shot an arc of water at them Related Articles Could you eat this much ice cream after walking miles Various Appalachian Trail hikers try Smaller amusement parks hope for a strong summer under the shadow of tariffs Travelers prepare for globe-trotting challenges under Trump administration Course The Arizona Sidewinder wild burros and a living statue The world s most-visited museum shuts down with staff sounding the alarm on mass tourism Her weapon of choice the cheap squirt-squirt variety is an increasingly common fixture at anti-tourism protests in the southern European country where multiple locals fear that an overload of visitors is driving them from their cherished neighborhoods How did the humble water gun become a symbol of discontent From refreshing to revolutionary The phenomenon started last July when a fringe left-wing activist group based in Barcelona that promotes the degrowth of the city s profitable tourism sector held its first flourishing rally Selected brought water guns to shoot one another and stay cool in the summer heat What happened later went viral but in reality it was just kind of a joke by a group of people who brought water guns because it was hot Adriana Coten one of the organizers of Neighborhood Assembly for Tourism Degrowth stated The Associated Press Then certain turned their water guns from each other to tourists The images went around the world becoming a publicity coup for the anti-tourism cause The guns reappeared in April when the same group stopped a tour bus in Barcelona the Catalan capital Guns drawn On Sunday around a thousand people marched from a luxury shopping boulevard popular with affluent foreigners before police stopped them from getting closer to Barcelona s top sight-seeing destination La Sagrada Familia church The marchers spritzed unsuspecting tourists along the way chanting slogans and carrying protest signs One read One more tourist one less resident They left a trail of stickers on hotel doors lampposts and outdoor caf tables showing a squirting water gun encircled by a message in English Tourist Go Home Still the number of Barcelona protesters carrying water guns was a minority and in the gun-toting group countless were only shooting in the air or at each other One dad was toting his baby in a front-pack water gun in hand Outside the protests Barcelona locals are not toting water guns or taking aim at tourists And plenty of in the city still assistance tourism which is a pillar of the local business activity A symbol Can the water gun really change the minds of tourists government or the businesses that drive the industry Depends on who you ask A protester holds a water gun during a protest against overtourism in Barcelona Spain Sunday June AP Photo Pau Venteo A protester holds a water gun during a protest against overtourism in the Balearic island of Mallorca Spain Sunday June AP Photo Joan Mateu Parra A protester holds a water gun during a protest against overtourism in Barcelona Spain Sunday June AP Photo Pau Venteo People demonstrate next to a restaurant during a protest against overtourism in the Balearic island of Mallorca Spain Sunday June AP Photo Joan Mateu Parra Show Caption of A protester holds a water gun during a protest against overtourism in Barcelona Spain Sunday June AP Photo Pau Venteo Expand Protester Lourdes S nchez and her teenage daughter each holding a water gun commented the gun really isn t to hurt anyone This is a symbol to say that we are fed up of how tourism industry is transforming our country into a theme park S nchez declared Another demonstrator Andreu Mart nez acknowledged it was to bother the tourists a bit Laurens Schocher a -year-old architect declared he didn t shoot any suspected tourists but hoped that carrying a water gun would bring more attention to their cause I don t think the tourists will get it he revealed I think this is to send a message to personnel A squirt can hurt your feelings The marchers had no monster pump-action water cannons majority kids use for backyard battles in the summer Theirs were the old-school cheap-o water guns that send a slim jet of water not that far away Various tourists who were sprayed took it in stride even claiming it was refreshing on a day with temperatures pushing up to around Fahrenheit But there were moments of tension When several marchers squirted workers at a large hostel tempers flared and one worker spat at his attackers as he slammed the hostel door shut Nora Tsai who had just arrived from Taiwan on a short visit was among those spritzed on Sunday She mentioned she was a bit frightened and saddened The Tourist go home chants didn t help either I still like Barcelona she announced I have met a lot of people who were kind