Tourists, go home

It is a slogan you see in a lot of places in Spain, in Barcelona, next to Parc Guell, in big letters. But also in Mallorca and Tenerife, the locals have had enough and protest in the streets against the massive tourist exposure they are having in Spain right now.

In July only, 10.9 million people travelled to Spain from abroad, that is 7.3 % more than last year. In the first seven months of 2024 Spain had received 53.4 million tourists from other countries. That is a whopping 12 % more than the previous year. It is an absolute record, never before has Spain received this much tourists.
Most of them come from the United Kingdom, France and Germany. The most popular region is Catalunya, followed by the Balear Islands, the Canary Islands and Valencia region.

Massive income

Those tourists have spent over 71 billion EUR this year already, that is 20 % more than the previous year. Needless to say that tourism is very important for the Spanish economy. Millions of Spanish live from tourism, but it does have a hard downside. Inhabitants of Barcelona call their city "unlivable", the even attack tourists with "water" guns to push down their point.

On the island of Mallorca it has become almost impossible for locals to buy a house or appartment. Tourists from abroad drive up prices so hard, they have boomed. And they keep on rising.

It looks like Spain will have to choose between quality of life for its inhabitants and the money from tourism. A hard choice in my opinion. And something that is very hard to put together.

Sincerely,

Pele23

Posted Using InLeo Alpha