Barcelona marches to curb negative effects of

tourism boom
Community groups join forces to protest over soaring level of rents fuelled
by a big rise in visitor numbers

Behind banners reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and “We will not be
driven out”, some 2,000 people staged an “occupation” of the Rambla, the
city’s famed boulevard, on Saturday.

The protest was organised by a coalition of more than 40 resident and

community groups from all over the city, not just the neighbourhoods most
directly affected bymass tourism.

Visitor numbers have grown exponentially in recent years. In 2016 an

estimated 9 million people stayed in hotels and a further 9 million in holiday
apartments. In addition, the city received around 12 million day-
trippers arriving by car and train or on cruise ships.

Tourists looked on bemused as the banners were unfurled at the top of the
Rambla, beside the Canaletes fountain.

“I don’t understand. What do they mean, Barcelona is not for sale?” asked
Qais from Kuwait. “It’s not what we were expecting, but I can see their
point,” he said when it had been explained to him. He added: “Things are
really bad in the Middle East,” which put things in perspective. “Does it
mean they don’t want us here?” his wife asked. Birgid from Denmark was
less sympathetic. “Tourism brings in lots of moneyto the city, doesn’t it? I’m
sure it’s changed the city, but that’s life, isn’t it?”

Roger from Wigan, here on his second visit, commented: “I can understand
it, the place is very commercial. And if I understand what’s written on some
of these placards, they are complaining that tourism is forcing their rents
up. I can sympathise with that.”

This was one of the key issues behind the march, as the money to be made
from holiday lets is forcing rents up and driving people out of the city.

Christine, an Englishwoman on the march who has lived in Barcelona for

more than 20 years, said: “We’ve been renting our flat in the old town for 17
years. In that time I reckon we’ve paid around €150,000 in rent. Now they
want to kick us out because they can make more money renting it out to
tourists.”
The march coincides with a new law passed by Barcelona city council on
Friday that, for the first time, seeks to curb tourism. The special urban plan
for tourist accommodation aims to limit the number of beds on offer from
hotels and apartments by imposing a moratorium on building new hotels.
No new licences will be issued for tourist apartments.

There are currently 75,000 hotel beds in the city and around 100,000 beds
in tourist flats, at least half of them unlicensed and illegal. The city is at
loggerheads withAirbnb, the principal letting agency. Last year the council
fined Airbnb and HomeAway €600,000 each for advertising unlicensed
apartments.

Airbnb argues that the overwhelming majority of its clients in the city are
people who are letting out rooms as a way of making ends meet during
Spain’s prolonged financial crisis.

“That may be true up to a point, but it masks the real problem, which is
speculation,” says Daniel Pardo, a member of the Neighbourhood
Assembly for Sustainable Tourism. Yet people are free to visit the city, so
what’s to stop them?

“One thing we could do is stop spending millions on promoting tourism,”

says Pardo. “We’re subsidising tourism with public money, by exploiting
workers in the service economy and exploiting the infrastructure of the city,
which we citizens pay for. Furthermore, tourism is distorting the economy
and there is little support for anyone who wants to establish non-tourist
enterprises.”

The good-humoured march moved to the seaward end of the Rambla,

where one of the organisers read out a manifesto calling for more local
shops, more homes, rather than businesses, and control of the pollution
caused by private cars and cruise ships. “It’s a great turnout,” one of the
marchers quipped. “There are more people here than at Trump’s
inauguration. The citizens have never been consulted about this, although
they’re the ones who suffer the consequences and aren’t enjoying the
benefits. [We’re asking for] the debate to be opened to everyone and that
we reach some other resolution of the problem, instead of the present one
based on continuous growth.”

Comprehension Questions
1. Who organised the march?
2. How many tourists did Barcelona receive in total last year?
 3. How did tourists feel about the march?
4. What is the main detrimental effect that tourism is having on the city’s
residents?
5. How has the council responded to the rising number of tourists?
6. How does airbnb defend itself?
7. What suggestions does Daniel Pardo make?
8. The march was very serious and angry true/false

Language Focus
Work with a partner, look at the underlined expressions in the text, what do
you think they mean?

Now try to complete the expressions from memory:

1. This was one of the k____ issues behind the march,

2. The protest was organised by a c____________ of more than 40
resident and community groups.
3. Visitor numbers have grown e_______________ in recent years.
4. Now they want to k_______ us out because they can make more
money renting it o_______ to tourists.”
5. The money to be made from h_______ lets is f_______ rents up and
d________ people out of the city.
6. They are complaining that tourism is forcing their rents up. I can
s________ with that.
7. The city is at l____________ with Airbnb.
8. A new law p_________ by Barcelona city council on Friday that, for
the first time, s_________ to c___________ tourism.
9. The special urban plan for tourist accommodation a______ to limit the
number of beds ____ offer from hotels and apartments by
i__________ a m__________ on building new hotels.
10. Airbnb argues that the o___________ majority of its clients in
the city are people who are l___________ out rooms as a way of
m_______ ends m________ during Spain’s prolonged financial crisis.
11. “That m_______ be true up to a p________, but it masks the
real problem, which is speculation,”
12. The citizens have never been c__________ about this,
although they’re the ones who s_________ the consequences and
aren’t e_________ the b___________.
13. “It’s a great t____________,”

Language of opinion
Complete the sentences with one word to make expressions of opinion.
 1. F_____________ where I stand,
2. In my h_____________ opinion,
3. As f________ as I’m concerned,
4. A_______ I see it,
5. I don’t have very s___________ views on the matter but,…
6. I t___________ to agree with people who say…
7. If you a______ me, I’d say that…
8. I’m co___________ that…
9. From my p_______ of v__________,
10. Speaking from p____________ ex______________,
11. I’m a big s________________ of…
12. I’m d_______ against…
13. I’m a f__________ believer in….

Conversation
1. What do you think of the march? Are you in agreement with their
message?
2. Would you consider protesting on the issue?
3. What are the pros and cons of tourism in your city?
4. How does tourism affect your neighbourhood?
5. What experiences do you have of the downsides of tourism?
6. Do you think you have enjoyed the benefits of tourism? In what way?
7. Do you think tourism should be curbed in any way? If so, how?

Language Development
Look at the language from the text, in what other contexts could you use it?

 The city’s famed boulevard – what other things could be famed?

 Stage an occupation – what other things can you stage?
 A coalition of resident and community groups – what other coalitions
can you think of?
 Visitor numbers have grown exponentially in recent years. – What
other things can grow exponentially?
 “Puts things in perspective” – In what other contexts could you use
this expression?
 Tourism brings in a lot of money. – What other things bring in money
for a government/company?
 “That’s life, isn’t it?” – In what other contexts could you use this
expression?
 A new law passed by the council seeks to curb – What other things
would the government pass laws to curb?
  Now they want to kick us out – what other things could you be
kicked out of?
 The plan aims to limit the number of beds on offer. – What other
things could be limited?
 A manifesto calling for more local shops – What other things could a
manifesto or a protest call for?
 They’re the ones who are suffering the consequences and
not enjoying the benefits? – What other things could you suffer the
consequences or enjoy the benefits of?

Comprehension Questions Key

1. Who organised the march? A coalition of residents & community
groups
2. How many tourists did Barcelona receive in total last
year? 9+9+12=30million
3. How did tourists feel about the march? Mixed emotions, some
understanding, some bemused
4. What is the main detrimental effect that tourism is having on the city’s
residents? Forcing rents up, driving people out
5. How has the council responded to the rising number of tourists? Laws
to curb tourism, limits on flats, moratorium on new hotels
6. How does airbnb defend itself? Most hosts are just letting out spare
rooms
7. What suggestions does Daniel Pardo make? Stop subsidising tourism
with public money, infrastructure of the city is being exploited by
tourism
8. The march was very serious and angry true/false. false, march was
good-humoured

This past decade has witnessed a surge in wildlife tourism that has doubled and tripled the
tourist load in several of the more accessible national parks and reserves. But serious
infrastructural shortcomings have brought us precariously close to a breakdown of the
ecosystem‘s capacity to absorb this load. The result is an unsatisfactory tourist experience
(and an opportunity to impart conservation values lost), overworked, pressurized and
confused wildlife staff, and occasional man-animal confrontation crises such as man-killing
by tigers. Not to speak of the ecosystem that is being battered by humans. A road area, which
accommodated four vehicles a day, ten years ago, is now being used by 12 a day. The road
area the wildlife population of that area has in any case gone up. A collision of interests is
inevitable. An important function of wildlife refuges is to encourage tourism. recognising that
it forms an ideal ―hands-on‖ method of orienting, educating and winning the hearts and
minds of the general public over to conservation values and concepts. This can only be
achieved by communication with tourists before and during their visits to a wildlife refuge.
The ―interpretation‖ as it is generally referred to, is properly done by having an interpretation
centre, consisting of photographic, written and audio-visual exhibits supplemented by free or
priced literature and a person on hand to answer the queries of visitors. Tourists should
perforce be routed through this facility by the simple expedient they have some time to see it
while their entry permits are being prepared. The general message should be the history of the
wildlife refuge as a conservation microcosm, interesting facts of some of the species it
supports, and an explanation of the mechanics of an ecosystem and its relevance to man, plus
codes of conduct specific to the area and to wildlife and jungles in general. This should be
backed up by a cadre of trained naturalist guides, preferably from the local population, who
should accompany the tourists in the refuge. In some of our wildlife refuge, very poor
facilities for this sort of thing exist. In most, none exist at all. The result is tourist traffic,
which is generally quite ignorant of wildlife, ecology and conservation values, who leave the
refuge no wiser than when they came in. leaving behind for good measure the detritus of their
presence: plastic bags, cigarette packets, bottle, paper, a lot of which is nonbiodegradable and
toxic. Added to this is the fact that wildlife guards and rangers are often diverted from their
normal work-monitoring and managing wildlife and the ecosystem –and made to guide
tourists and generally be at the back and call of people, irrelevant to the priorities of the
wildlife refuge.

Question 1.
Which of the following is not true in the context of the passage?
(a) The forest staff are diverted from their normal work
(b) The priorities of the wildlife are sometime ignored by the forest staff.
(c) The tourists are generally equipped with the necessary knowledge of wildlife
(d) The tourists leave behind lots of toxic disposals
Ans. (c)

Question 2.
According to the passage, the main purpose of bringing tourists in the forest areas is
(a) to involve the general public in maintaining the ecosystem
(b) to educate the general public about wildlife and ecosystem
(c) to reduce the wildlife population
(d) to make them understand the codes of conduct of the jungles
Ans. (a)

Question 3.
“which of the following best explain this according to the passage?
(a) Unwillingness to build more road area vis-à-vis load of vehicular traffic
(b) Development of tourism vis-à-vis the conservation of the ecosystem
(c) Better tourist capability vis-à-vis lack of funds
(d) Positioning people to ecosystem and also destruction of the ecosystem.
Ans. (d)

Question 4.
What, according to the author, should be the step to improve the situation?
(a) Tourists should be briefed about the nature of wildlife and jungle
(b) Tourists should be briefed about the inter-relation between man and animals
(c) Tourists should be briefed about the information before they enter the jungle
(d) All of these.
Ans. (b)
Question 5.
What according to the author, will win the hearts and minds of the general public?
(a) Providing them better facilities.
(b) Providing them with trained guides
(c) Providing them with good food articles
(d) Providing them with better communication about the wildlife refuge
Ans. (d)

Question 6.
What, according to the passage, should the forest staff be engaged in?
(a) They should look after the well-being of wildlife
(b) They should take care of the habitat of wildlife
(c) They should provide tourists with necessary information about wildlife.
(d) They should take help of the local people to take care of the tourists.
Ans. (b)

New Pattern Reading Comprehension Part- 6

Question 7.
The main concern expresses by the author in the above passage is to
(a) improve facilities for tourists
(b) build more road areas
(c) restrict wildlife population
(d) balance the ecosystem by careful planning.
Ans. (d)

Question 8.
Which of the following words is most nearly the same in meaning as the words ―on hand‖ as
used in the passage?
(a) practical
(b) available
(c) useful
(d) knowledgeable
Ans. (b)

Question 9.
Man-animal confrontation, according to the passage leads to
(a) Killing of tigers by man
(b) Killing of animals by other animals
(c) Confusion of wildlife staff
(d) Destruction of mutual bond
Ans. (d)

Question 10.
What, according to the author, is the main reason for the near collapse of the capacity of the
ecosystem of wildlife refugees?
(a) Increase in tourist inflow
(b) Felling of trees indiscriminately
(c) Absence of adequate wildlife habitat
(d) Absence of adequate infrastructural
Ans. (d)

Question 11.
Which of the following words is most nearly the same in meaning as the word ―detritus‖ as
used in the passage?
(a) useful
(b) disposals
(c) valuable
(d) gravel
Ans. (b)

Question 12.
Which of the following words is most nearly same in meaning as the words ―hands-on‖ as
used in the passage?
(a) Practical
(b) handy
(c) sufficient
(d) easy
Ans. (a)