Tourism in San Sebastián has developed to the benefit of a few and to the detriment of the majority. We have been led to believe that it brings benefits and wealth to the San Sebastián people, but the data presents another reality. By adapting laws and regulations to convenience, the city has extended the red carpet to what has come to be called tourism “easy money.” Citizens, on the other hand, perceive the changes, consequences and damage to our city and our lifestyles as a result of mass tourism.

The city is run as if it were a company. The aim is to compete in the “market” of the world’s cities with the brand Donostia (and Basque Country). We want to adapt the city to give this brand some specific characteristics and this often involves shaping our neighborhoods, our living conditions and our way of life. Everything that does not generate a direct economic benefit is rejected and the aim is to folklorize what is alive and distinctive, turn it into an icon and offer it for sale.

Tourism turns the city into a servant of investors. The direction of public investments is determined by real estate investors, financial capital, and transnational corporations that have sought to attract them, as well as determining the structure and distribution of income.

The work that tourism entails is precarious work. New economic activities at the service of tourism are transforming the productive structure of the city. The nearby trade is being destroyed, replaced by multinationals of souvenirs and fashion. Outsourcing of services has prevailed for the sake of flexibility and reduced costs. And at the same time, temporary employment contracts or work without contracts, unpaid working hours, slave wages, that is, precariousness. An invisible working class, composed mainly of women.

One more tourist, one less neighbor. The tourism industry raises the price of housing without measure, including rents. Tourist hotels and apartments (AirBnB and others) are replacing dwellings to live in, expelling neighbors from their neighborhoods. Not only are the prices of leisure services increasing, but also the prices of urgent or everyday items. The reality of San Sebastián’s dismissals to neighboring towns is growing. And the suitcases with wheels have replaced the shopping carts.

The public space is adapted for consumption. The difficulties of developing community activities in the public space without “contractual relations” or causing consumption are increasing. In times and places of greater tourism, great facilities are provided to transform the entire city into a shopping center.

Tourism homogenizes us. It takes advantage of the uniqueness of our culture and characteristics to attract investors and tourism. But at the same time, this implies the massive incorporation of multinationals and capital funds that dominate the global market in the city. This introduction and the dismissal of the local population tends to dismantle the local community networks and homogenize the culture and identities: the same shops here and in Berlin, a cultural offer standardized and open to visitors, making more places for visitors’ languages than for locals...

All of this worries us. We are residents of San Sebastian. We have created a platform that brings together people who care about the current tourism model in the city. In San Sebastian we want to generate an honest, transparent and open debate about the tourism model. And in Donostia-San Sebastián we claim the living conditions as a priority element in any strategy and economic activity that takes place in the city.

We have nothing against the people who visit San Sebastian during their holidays. We are concerned about the effects that the current tourism model generates on the population: housing, work bays, neighborhood relations, small commerce, linguistic landscape... These problems are the responsibility of those who, rather than tourists, design and promote without limits the current tourism model: some local and international investors and institutional leaders who open all their doors to them.

In the face of all these concerns, our only support is to join the neighbors. To defend our LIFE, to COLLABORATE among the people of Donostia-San Sebastián and to move to EKIN instead of waiting. At the end of May, the World Tourism Organization will hold its executive meeting in San Sebastian. Several social actors will launch their demands during these days. And we will use it to proclaim aloud that those of us who are concerned about the consequences of the tourism model live in it and want to live in it.

This opinion piece has been published in the newspaper Hor Dago-El Salto by Asier Basurto, member of the Barrio platform and we have brought it to LUZ thanks to the CC-By-SA license.