Quality tourism in Barcelona – promise or illusion?

27/09/2025 29 min Episodio 241
Quality tourism in Barcelona – promise or illusion?

Listen "Quality tourism in Barcelona – promise or illusion?"

Episode Synopsis

'Tourist, go home!', 'Ban Airbnb', and even 'Stop brunch'. Some of the slogans you'll see graffitied around Barcelona, and on t-shirts and placards at the anti-tourism rallies that have made international headlines in recent years.
In our first video podcast, Filling the Sink looks at the latest strategy to make tourism work for the people who live here too: a shift toward so-called quality tourism.
Patricia Diez, professor at EAE Business School, and Eulogio Bordas, president of THR Innovative Tourism Consultants, share their insights on quality tourism – is it desirable, achievable, and how to make it work.
Carla Izcara, a researcher at Alba Sud, and José Mansilla, from UAB's Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology, offer a critical perspective on the promises and pitfalls of quality tourism.
Oriol Escudé joins host Lorcan Doherty to unpack the idea of quality tourism and what it means for Barcelona and Catalonia.