AN ANTI-tourist mob fired water pistols at holidaymakers aboard a tour bus outside Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia.
The attack marks the start of a long of , with mass demonstrations expected across in coming weeks.
Shocking footage shows anti-tourist demonstrators blocking the vehicle and squirting it with water.
Holidaymakers onboard the open top bus can be seen watching on in horror as the angry protesters attack.
As the mob fires away they can be heard chanting: “Tourists go home!”;
The mob also covered the window of the bus with a banner that read: “Turn off the tourist focus.”;
One protester told Reuters: “We are here because we are fed up that tourism is always on top of this economic model.”;
The attack was organised by the Assembly of Neighbourhoods for the Decrease in Tourism.
The group wrote on X: ‘We blocked a tourist bus and demonstrated with water pistols’, and said 24 people were arrested.”;
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And this is just the beginning as the group announced an even bigger protest which is set to take place on June 15.
The group said the protest will “put an end to the tourist fire that is sweeping the planet, and to initiate once and for all the essential socio-economic transformation of the territories it exploits.”;
Protesters are expected to gather in several cities across in coming weeks, with huge protests expected in Mallorca on Thursday.
Thursday’s demonstration will take place in the capital of Palma, starting at the iconic Plaza España at 11.30am before going along the Avenues and end with a gathering in the Parc de la Mar.
The other Balearic Islands, including Menorca and , are also planning a series of demonstrations, the CCOO and UGT have confirmed.
The demonstration in Maó, Menorca will begin in the Plaça de la Explanada at noon, while the concentration in Ibiza will be held in the Parque de la Paz.
The protests mark the start of what the unions are calling a “hot summer of mobilisations”;.
General secretaries of UGT and CCOO in the islands, Pedro Homar and José LuÃs GarcÃa made the announcement on Tuesday under the slogan “Protect what has been conquered, win the “.
The organisations represent thousands of hospitality workers who are fighting for better pay and working conditions, as well as access to more affordable housing.
According to the unions the employers refuse to deal with the wage increase of the hospitality agreement.
They said this is: “nonsense and irresponsibility when they are earning more than ever, records of tourist spending are broken and the forecasts are on the rise”;.
José LuÃs GarcÃa said: “In other sectors linked to tourism, such as and Son Sant Joan airport, they have precarious working conditions, with enormous workloads due to lack of employees and salaries unbalanced with the standard of living of the archipelago.”;
Pedro Homar added: “It is incomprehensible that they refuse to even consider a salary increase in this scenario. It is time to claim that tourism is not only the engine of the economy, but also of the well-being of workers.”;
One of the clashes between employers and unions is the reduction of the working day.
The approval of this reduction has been delayed by the Government for a week due to the blackout.
According to island newspaper Ultima hora es the decision on the new hotel and catering agreement is crucial and if there is no significant progress unions will call for immediate mobilisations.
It seems nowhere is untouched by the protests as holiday hotspot Tenerife is also set to be hit by demonstrations.
Tenerife has seen residents rise up against what they are calling a “”; – pushing locals to the brink.
Activists have vowed to storm popular tourist attractions, disrupt public events and “confront political leaders”; in a fiery new phase of protests kicking off May 18.
“From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated,”; declared pressure group Canarias tiene un lÃmite (The Canaries Have a Limit).
“We will boycott public events, confront political leaders during their appearances and occupy symbolic tourist spaces to make it clear that we will not stop until real change is achieved.”;
