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Louise Thomas
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A comedian has gone viral for his hot take that Europe is “over,” and it seems that many people agree.
As European cities like Barcelona begin to crack down on tourism and short-term rentals, one TikTok user has shared why he thinks European natives should instead welcome the influx of foreigners visiting their cities.
“I’ve seen a lot of news about how local Europeans are mad that tourists are just ruining their cities, and they’re complaining, and they’re squirting the water,” comedian Dan Mahboubian Rosen began his viral video, which included the on-screen text: “Europe is over.”
“You guys just have to accept at this point that you’re our Disney World now, it’s your function in this world,” he said.
Earlier this month, thousands of residents in Barcelona, Spain, squirted diners in tourist areas with water during a protest against mass tourism. The Spanish locals chanted “tourists go home” with signs that read: “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism.”
The protestors demanded the city impose restrictions on short-term rentals and address the high cost of living, which has made many of these cities unlivable for residents.
Several other European travel destinations have also joined in on the anti-tourism movement. The Italian city of Venice introduced a €5 ($5.50) daily fee for visiting during peak times. Amsterdam’s city council has voted to ban cruise ships from entering the city’s main port, while Greece has implemented a time-slot system for visitors at the Acropolis in Athens.
Although there’s a growing sentiment against mass tourism, Rosen wasn’t exactly sympathetic toward protests from European locals – considering the region’s long history of colonization. “You had your fun colonizing the world, pillaging and extracting wealth to make your nice little piazzas and palaces. So, now you have to accept that you’re just museum cities,” the comedian said.
Rosen criticized European cities for only offering its history and “cured meats” without actually producing anything new. “That’s what you have to offer the global economy, riding off of the fumes of the luxury goods and culture you created centuries ago,” he added. “China is making solar panels and you make manchego.”
The TikToker described Europe as a “playground,” which he contended is a pretty fair trade-off for universal healthcare and low retirement ages, unlike the United States. “You should just accept that you’re a living, breathing ‘It’s a Small World’ ride,” Rosen said, referring to the famous Magic Kingdom attraction at the Disney theme park.
He captioned the viral video: “It’s okay you had a good run, time to accept your fate Europe.”
Since it was posted on July 22, Rosen’s clip has received more than one million views and over 5,000 comments, many of which agreed that European natives “need to be humbled”.
“Why would you say something so controversial, yet so brave,” one TikToker commented.
“This is so true. White Europeans need to be humbled,” another said.
“I love how Euros think that the cities they have inherited are somehow a result of their superior social planning policies instead of extractive colonialism,” someone else noted.
However, others took the opportunity to point out how ongoing protests from local Europeans are due to soaring rental prices for residents.
“It’s not about the tourists but the housing. It’s unaffordable for working class individuals to live, and if we can protest that here why can’t they there?” one TikToker commented.
“This is the most US American take,” another wrote. “It’s not saying zero tourism, the protests are about how tourism is driving prices so high for the local population they can’t afford to live in their own city.”
A third person said: “They’re not mad [at] tourists. They’re mad at arrogant tourists like you.”
While Rosen may have received some backlash for comparing Europe to Disney World, he may not be entirely wrong. Jaume Collboni, the mayor of Barcelona, said on Tuesday that Spain’s most-visited city has to impose restrictions on tourism so as not to become a “theme park” without residents.
“Tourism needs to be serving the city’s model, not the opposite. That’s what we are doing in Barcelona,” Collboni added. Last month, he issued a mandate that will ban tourists from renting short-term residences by 2028.
In the last 10 years, rent in the Spanish holiday destination rose 68 percent and the cost of buying a house rose 38 percent. Last year, some 26 million tourists visited the 1.6-million citizen city, where tourism accounts for 15 percent of its economy.
Meanwhile, Europe’s tourism industry saw a year-on-year increase of 12 percent in foreign visitors, according to a report from the European Travel Commission. The ETC predicts that tourists in Europe are expected to spend €800.5bn in 2024, up 13.7 percent since 2023.
