Overtourism in Spain and fed up residents

Photo: Josep Lago Agence France-Presse Tourists in front of the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona on July 5, 2024.

Valentin Bontemps – Agence France-Presse in Madrid

Published yesterday at 11:06 a.m.

• Europe

Second destination in the world after France, Spain should welcome a record number of visitors this summer, according to professional organizations in the sector, seeking solutions to the movements hostile to overtourism which are increasing in the country .

According to data published Thursday by the tourism promotion agency Turespaña, dependent on the Ministry of Tourism, 41 million foreign tourists could visit Spain during the summer period, after the 33 million recorded during the first five months of 'year.

This figure is 13% higher than summer 2023, the year of the previous record. It should be accompanied, according to the ministry, by a sharp increase in revenues generated by tourism, expected to increase by 22% over this period, to nearly 59 billion euros.

This confirms “the success of the Spanish tourism model”, estimated the Minister of Tourism Jordi Hereu during a press briefing, emphasizing the increase in spending linked according to him to the move upmarket of Spanish offer. “The attractiveness of Spain is confirmed month after month,” he insisted.

According to the National Institute of Statistics (INE), Spain welcomed 85.1 million foreign visitors last year, mainly British, French and German. Given the current dynamic, this record figure should be largely beaten in 2024.

According to Caixabank economists, Spain could accommodate more than 90 million foreign tourists this year, thanks to “the economic recovery in Europe” and the image of “security” associated with the Iberian Peninsula, in a context of strong international tensions.

The employers' organization Exceltur, which published its own estimates on Thursday, for its part forecasts an increase of 4.6% in tourist revenues in 2024, thanks to a strong increase in summer attendance in the Basque Country (+ 8.3%), in Andalusia (+7.4%) and Madrid (+11.5%).

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If these forecasts are confirmed, Spain's “tourism gross domestic product” would “exceed 200 billion euros for the first time” this year, which “would bring the contribution of tourism to the Spanish economy to 13.2 %,” says Exceltur.

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Outburst of anger

These projections come as movements hostile to overtourism are increasing in the country, from the Balearic Islands to the Canaries via Malaga and Barcelona – where several thousand people marched again on Saturday to demand measures against this overcrowding.

Protesters denounce noise pollution, pollution, congestion of transport infrastructure and soaring rents, while many homeowners are turning to tourist rental, significantly more profitable.

“Tourism is absolutely essential for Spain”, but we must act in the face of its “negative effects”, admitted at the end of June Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu. “We are not going to prohibit people from coming to Spain, but we can limit the tourist offer,” he also assured.

A message relayed by Ramón Estalella, secretary general of the Cehat hotel association. “We must strive to preserve and improve the keys to success that have made Spain the world benchmark in summer tourism,” he said in early July.

< p>Faced with this surge of anger, several regions have recently taken measures to curb the problem, such as Barcelona, ​​which announced on June 21 that it wanted to put an end to the rental of tourist apartments from here to 2029 to facilitate residents' access to housing.

An approach encouraged by the government of socialist Pedro Sánchez, which is working on the creation of a register of tourist accommodation and seasonal workers in order to combat the illegal rental of certain apartments. This register could be available “in March or April 2025”, Jordi Hereu said on Thursday.

“The unlimited growth of tourism in high season in regions under tension is clearly not viable,” recognizes Exceltur, who however warns against the reactions of some residents – tourists have been attacked with water guns in recent days in Barcelona.

These behaviors are “more than reprehensible” and create “damage to the international reputation” of the tourism sector, “on which so many people depend” in Spain, concludes the employers' organization.