There were 8.6 million arrivals in April – a 10 per cent year-on-year uptick – with 26 million landing so far this year
Millions of UK tourists could have to “rethink” plans to holiday in Spain and its islands. The number of foreign tourists flocking to Spain has continued to rise, amid growing demonstrations and protests around overtourism.
There were 8.6 million arrivals in April – a 10 per cent year-on-year uptick – with 26 million landing so far this year, a seven per cent uplift. But despite the popularity, UK tourists have been quick to rethink their summer plans ahead of the demonstrations, with many saying they will avoid mainland Spain and its islands.
Brits continue to dominate the figures, making up over 4.7 million arrivals – an increase of 6.7 per cent. But one said: “I see their point, but I don’t rent a property, I use hotels.
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“But I’m not going to stay in a hotel in Spain after this year, I’m taking my accommodation with me so they can’t whinge about that.”
Another added: “I agree with them to a certain extent. It’s the people who buy up residential houses like they do here and in Cornwall and Wales so locals have nowhere to live. Holiday makers who stay in hotels are providing a living for locals and they know that.”
A third typed: “Their own governments and councils like those here need to stop the buying up of residential properties by greedy developers and stop the stag and hen parties.
“There is no need to target all tourists, that’s just bullying and aggression encouraged by the TikTok mob.” And another said: “Spent a fortune in Tenerife over the years. Not anymore.”
It comes as activist groups across Spain and southern Europe are bracing for what’s being described as “an unprecedented mobilisation” on June 15.
The action is expected to impact hotspots such as the Canary Islands – Lanzarote and Tenerife, along with Barcelona and Majorca in the Balearics.
Valeria Racu, a spokesperson for the Madrid tenants’ union, called for rent strikes such as those mounted recently in some Catalan coastal towns.
“This is the beginning of the end of the housing business,” Racu said. “The beginning of a better society, without landlordism and this parasitical system that devours our salaries and our resources.”
The union says 1.4m Spanish households spend more than 30% of their income on housing, 200,000 families more than 10 years ago.