Barcelona: Die Drosslung des Wachstumsmotors Tourismus?

This article explores the regulation of urban tourism in Barcelona, one of metropolises of Europe most affected by tourism. The case study begins by examining the formation of the tourism „growth coalition“ that emerged after the 1992 Olympics, establishing a tourism-oriented local regime of accumulation. The regime was given credence by a discourse that claimed it would benefit the whole city. With the growing externalities that the tourism growth engine produced, this regime became increasingly criticised. Indeed it helped put in power a political coalition that promised to end the consensus with the growth coalition. A final chapter discusses the new local administration’s approaches to regulating tourism, and analyses the effects of this change on the hegemony of the growth coalition with regard to residents’ interests.