With preliminary races of the Louis Vuitton 37th America’s Cup now underway in Barcelona, Spain, the famous sailing competition is facing the storm of over-tourism protests that have swept across much of Europe, as well as, many tourist hotspots across the globe.
The Guardian reports that according to its supporters, the America’s Cup will bring in €1bn to Barcelona, create 19,000 jobs and, by the time the last sail is furled on 20 October, have attracted an extra 2.5 million visitors to the city.
The ultimate sporting competition for the super-rich marks the latest attempt by the Spanish city to attract “quality rather than quantity” tourism.
“The people who follow the America’s Cup are people who love the sea and have plenty of disposable income,” said Mateu Hernández, the head of the public-private body Barcelona Tourism.
“We are interested in these people. We need to improve the quality of those who visit. But people confuse quality with wealth. What we want is people who come here to do something, whether it’s to visit museums or enjoy the architecture and the gastronomy.”
Many locals are not convinced of the benefits of the races.
Critics claim the oldest international sporting event in the world, which runs until 27 October, will put the Spanish city under more pressure as it fights against over-tourism.
Martí Cuso, of the Platform Against the America’s Cup, said the yacht race was “elitist and opaque” and demonstrations were planned for next month.
“This is not like the Olympics where people are interested in the sport. This is just for rich people who can afford to go and see the yachts on their own boats at sea,” he told inews.
Mr Cuso, who was one of the organisers of a demonstration against over-tourism in July in Barcelona at which holidaymakers were sprayed with water pistols, said the yachts were sponsored by luxury brands who wanted to use Barcelona to promote their products.
“A lot of people involved in the race have taken up long-term rents on apartments in the city centre and pushed up prices for local people. There will be protests in the first week of September.”
“Despite the claims it will bring financial benefits for the city, we have not seen independent reports on any real benefits.”
Meanwhile, he says, temporary lettings in Barceloneta, the seafront neighbourhood that is a focal point during the competition, have risen to €4,000-€5,000 a month. “We’re also worried that holding this competition reinforces the idea that the economy of Barcelona has to be based on tourism, whereas what we want is diversification,” Cusó said.
As for creating jobs, Ivy Scrancher, a local skipper, said virtually none of the race organisers were local. “All the people on the chase boats, the engineers, all the people who are actually making money from this big event aren’t from here,” she said. “They come from New Zealand or Australia or elsewhere. They make 12 or 20 grand a month and take it back home. The only Spanish people involved are volunteers.”
Esther Jorquera, a Barceloneta resident, also railed against the lack of paid jobs for locals. “They promised us jobs and then ask us to work for free,” she said. “The 2,000 volunteers they’ve recruited should be 2,000 jobs.”