Tourism becomes the second concern of residents
According to recent satisfaction surveys conducted by Barcelona Council, tourism is the second greatest preoccupation among residents after unemployment. The annual survey, which has been running for ten years, last year introduced the matter of tourism which since has immediately risen to the top of issues. In fact, of those that participated, the 12 poorest neighbourhoods marked tourism to be the main problem of their community.
The survey also includes factors such as traffic problems, which has increased from 2015, and insecurity, which come in third and fourth position respectively. The results of the survey were of significant concern that Gerardo Pisarello, the spokesperson for the government, has encouraged continuing to undertake methods of control such as the ‘Plan Especial Urbanístico de Alojamientos Turísticos’ (PEUAT) which seeks to regularly inspect tourist properties, as well as encouraging the use of the tram, reducing the noise of vehicles and extending the metro to Zona Franca to try and control traffic problems.
Although the Barcelonans marked the government 6.3/10 there is a common demand for political improvement as only 39.6% of the 73 neighbourhoods were very or quite satisfied with the services that the government provided. Despite this, the survey did reveal that the level of satisfaction for living in Barcelona is 7.9/10, which shows that the perception of the problems experienced by residents is generally bigger than in reality. Overall, the negative aspects only form 39% of general satisfaction of living, which sets Barcelona in a positive position for the future.
Finally, the survey commented on the attitude towards general services that are provided in Barcelona. Out of the 25 mentioned, 8 were said to need improvement among these were waste collection, cleanliness, lighting, mobile phone applications, conservation of buildings, sports centres and security. With a slight decrease in concerns about public transport, metro, buses and ‘el Bicing.’
If you are among those who are most concerned with unemployment in the city, have a look at our blog which has information on jobs with Barcelona-Home.
