Yzabelle Bostyn
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‘TURISMOFOBIA’ has reached new lows in southern Spain after a group of British tourists were doused in water from a balcony.
A disgruntled resident has thrown water over Brits visiting Sevilla in the latest incident of anti-tourism.
The incident, which took place on Calle Lope de Rueda, was reported by the group’s tour guide.
Some 20 cruisers were affected, including a family that decided to leave immediately after.
Photo: @sevillaresiste
The tour group had docked in Cadiz and were on a day trip to the city.
They had entered the busy Santa Cruz area at 11am on Tuesday morning.
As most tourists do, they passed through the Calle Lope de Rueda, the typical gateway to the neighborhood from the Plaza Alfaro.
Their guide, Mercedes Miguez said: “All of a sudden someone threw water at us from a balcony, a man and a couple were soaked, alongside their teenage daughter. The woman started crying her eyes out and left.
“She said the neighbour did it on purpose, that they are against tourists here and in the UK the papers are talking a lot about turismofobia in Spain.”
The guide claims she tried to ‘calm down’ the situation while recognising the neighbour ‘clearly meant to do it’.
“It was very unpleasant. From now on, everytime I go by I’m going to film.”
According to her, the hotel in front of the house in question confirmed the incident was not an ‘isolated case’.
READ MORE: Watch: Hotel cleaners in Spain’s Ibiza shame tourists for leaving their rooms in a ‘shocking state’
Photo: @sevillaresiste
“We continued the tour but it was already ruined,” Miguez said.
“Cruisers spend lots of money here and they don’t bother anyone, they are the loveliest people.”
The guide, who belongs to Sevilla’s Tour Guide Association (AUITIS), was quickly contacted by local tourism police and the town hall.
She also spread the news amongst colleagues, who shared similar incidents which appear to have started since the pandemic.
“They told me that people push them and their groups, they shout at them and say awful things. A colleague told me just yesterday (Wednesday) that she was pushed in the Macarena area,” she said.
She also revealed that other colleagues had suffered the same fate in Santa Cruz and ‘it’s not an isolated case’.
Miguez empathised with the locals, saying: “I understand why it bothers them. There is overcrowding and free tour groups shouting at 12 at night, but the image that woman is giving of Sevilla is not pretty. Throwing water over people isn’t the solution.”
Instead, she advises ‘reconsidering the hours of the neighbourhood’.
“I understand that people don’t want free tours going through at 12 at night, screaming their heads off,” she said.
“Another solution could be to reduce the groups to 30 for official guides, because there’s too many people. Or make all the groups use headphones so the guides aren’t shouting in the street.”
These suggestions are in line with proposed ‘good practices’ drawn up by PSOE.
However, these recommendations have never been made official.
They included: avoiding crowing in busy or small areas, not obstructing the entrances to buildings, using headphones, banning megaphones and not giving explanations next to people’s windows.
“The city needs tourism, but if there are two or three more cases like this, turismofobia will end because tourism will end.”
