Jet2 has raised a red flag for British holidaymakers planning trips to Spain after noting the increasing unrest directed toward UK tourists. The country, a bustling EU holiday destination, has become a stage for protests by locals, with Jet2’s top boss providing insight into the situation.
Steve Heapy elaborated: “[They are protesting] incompetent and impotent governments that have failed to regulate unlicensed tourism. They’re not stupid, they know tourism generates income for the economy, and tourism’s been around for decades – licensed tourism.”
“We operate licensed tourism. We send people to hotels. It’s easy to work out how many people there will be. And that model has worked very well for decades. You could predict what the demand for tourism would be,” he explained.
READ NEXT: Award-winning restaurant near Coventry set to close as Masterchef star says ‘it’s time to move on’
Get daily headlines and breaking news emailed to you – it’s FREE
“The number of properties will drop by 95 per cent overnight,” he cautioned. “That will mean the protests stop. [Otherwise] these protests will get bigger and bigger. They will start to affect our destinations. They will start to put people off travelling. This will get worse and worse,” he forecasted.
“To be honest, I don’t blame people for being upset about it and protesting. I’d probably do the same if it happened in my area.”, reports Birmingham Live.
The CEO was vocal following incidents in tourist favourites Majorca, Lanzarote, Tenerife, and parts of mainland Spain such as Barcelona, Malaga, and Madrid that experienced significant demonstrations.
In certain instances, Spain has instructed UK holidaymakers to “go home”. Jet2’s CEO, Mr Heapy, has criticised ‘inept governments’ for their lack of action in dealing with the growing anti-tourism demonstrations in Spain, as the nation gears up to enforce stricter regulations impacting tourists in 2025.
TTG Media relayed Mr Heapy’s remarks from a Jet2 press briefing. Speaking at the company’s yearly conference in Paphos, Cyprus, Mr Heapy stated that “it is not the case per se” that locals in popular tourist spots like Barcelona and Mallorca are opposing tourism, contrary to what is commonly reported by mainstream media.
This post was originally published on here
