A THIRD of Spain says there are too many tourists in the European Union holiday destination. 49 per cent say there are “large” tourists where they live, and 32 per cent have deemed the amount “too many” amid a row over so-called overtourism.
Residents in Catalonia, where the popular destinations of Spain’s Costa Brava and regional capital Barcelona are found, are the most likely to complain of too many tourists (48 per cent), YouGov’s polling, which was released last week, shows.
The results show that more than a third of Spaniards (37 per cent) say that the holiday lets industry brings more harm than benefits, and 45 per cent of Spaniards have a negative view of it. Looking at attitudes towards various parts of the tourism industry, the holiday rental properties sector stands out as provoking particular ire in Spain.
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The Spanish government has recently announced a crackdown on such properties, and the city of Madrid has announced it is pausing the granting of new licences for tourists flats. Another area of the travel sector that often comes in for criticism is the cruise ships industry.
In this case, Spaniards actually have among the most positive views of big boat tourism. Responding to the poll, a Spaniard said: “Just to be sure what the article actually implies as it sounds a little xenophobic: does “too many foreign tourists” really mean foreign proper? Don’t visitors from Spain mainland contribute to overcrowding on the island?”
“Social media influencers again,” a second said. Anti-tourism activist Marta Pérez, 37, from Cadiz, Spain, told The Olive Press mass tourism has pushed rents to unaffordable levels. Ms Pérez added: “Try as best as you can not to annoy the people who live in the area. We all have to travel more conscientiously on an individual level.”
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