Water guns are back squirting at unsuspecting tourists in Barcelona. About a thousand Spaniards marched to demand a rethink of an economic model they believe is fueling a housing crunch and erasing the character of their city on Sunday.

Residents in Barcelona, Spain, and several other popular European destinations say tourism in their cities is driving up housing costs for locals.

In Barcelona, the epicentre of the demonstrations, protesters fired water pistols at shop windows and let off plumes of coloured smoke. The demonstrators held banners with slogans such as "mass tourism kills the city" and chanted, "your holidays, my misery".