Despite escalating anti-tourist sentiment and vows to unleash misery on Brits this summer – one particular EU destination can’t seem to shake off its popularity. Last year, a record-breaking 94 million international visitors flocked to Spain and its slew of postcards archipelagos – a sharp 10 per cent increase compared to the year before.
The tourist boom will have been well received by local businesses cashing in on sun-worshipping Brits, from nightclub owners in the party-mad region of Benidorm all the way down to hoteliers in the Canary Islands. But, the staggering influx sparked controversial efforts to tackle over-tourism across the country.
2024 saw thousands of frustrated locals take to the streets in a slew of protests, armed with banners demanding holidaymakers ‘go home’ and even squirting tourists in the face with water pistols. Many demonstrations blamed the skyrocketing demand for short-term property rentals and second holiday homes for pricing locals out of the property market – further fuelling Spain’s housing crisis.
Now, Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) – which has been at the forefront of Spain’s anti-tourism campaign – has promised to ‘intensify’ its ahead of the peak season. Pere Joan, a spokesperson and organiser for the group, previously told the Mirror: “We hope to do the same as before, by occupying the beaches in places that have a mass of tourists…
“Our capacity to mobilise people was important last year. We had two protests of more than 20,000 persons and 40,000 in one of them.”
And yet, in spite of the furore, as well as the UK’s grappling cost-of-living crisis, new research has found that three in ten parents are still planning to travel to Spain over the next few months. Data gathered by travel debit card brand Currensea states Spain remains a firm fave amongst British families, outranking nearby hotspots such as Italy and France. In third place is the United States of America, where 15 per cent of parents plan to take their little ones during the summer period.
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In a statement sent to the Mirror, James Lynn, Co-Founder of Currensea, said Spain remained a top destination for British families, but that two-thirds (66 per cent) of parents worry about getting caught out by high foreign exchange (FX) fees when they are spending money abroad. “The value of the pound has dipped against the Euro and US Dollar over the last six months, impacting travel budgets, and global uncertainty could push holiday prices up even more than expected over the next few months meaning families need to make every penny count,” he added.
“Parents are using their hard-earned savings to take their families abroad on holiday, yet millions are seeing budgets eaten by poor FX rates and extortionate bank fees. With UK travellers forking out an unnecessary £2.7bn in FX fees every year, it’s vital that they have access to simple and transparent spending solutions that cut fees and make holiday savings stretch further.”
Luckily, there are a slew of high-street banks and travel card companies that allow Brits to withdraw money without getting stung by extortionate transaction fees. Currensea says it has saved travellers more than £2.5 million during 2024 by cutting FX fees and eliminating hidden bank charges.
Has Spain’s anti-tourist protests put you off from visiting? Email liam.gilliver@reachplc.com for a chance to be featured.
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