(Madrid) The second largest destination in the world after France, Spain is expected to welcome a record number of visitors this summer, according to professional organisations in the sector, which are seeking solutions to the growing number of movements against overtourism 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 registered during the first five months of the year.
This figure is 13% higher than that of the summer of 2023, the year of the previous record. It should be accompanied, according to the ministry, by a sharp increase in revenue generated by tourism, expected to increase by 22% over this period, to nearly 59 billion euros (87 billion Canadian dollars).
This confirms “the success of the Spanish tourism model,” said Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu during a press briefing, emphasizing the increase in spending linked, according to him, to the upgrading of the 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 from the UK, France and Germany. Given the current dynamics, this record figure is expected to be largely beaten in 2024.
According to Caixabank economists, Spain could welcome 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’ organisation Exceltur, which published its own estimates on Thursday, predicts a 4.6% increase in tourist revenue in 2024, thanks to a strong increase in summer attendance in the Basque Country (+8.3%), Andalusia (+7.4%) and Madrid (+11.5%).
If these forecasts are confirmed, Spain’s “gross domestic product from tourism” would “exceed 200 billion euros” ($296 billion) this year for the first time, which would “bring the contribution of tourism to the Spanish economy to 13.2%,” Exceltur said.
Anger surge
The projections come as anti-overtourism protests are growing in the country, from the Balearic Islands to the Canaries, via Malaga and Barcelona – where several thousand people marched again on Saturday to demand action against over-tourism.
PHOTO BRUNA CASAS, REUTERS
Anti-overtourism movements are growing in Spain.
The protesters are denouncing noise pollution, pollution, congestion of transport infrastructure and soaring rents, as many property owners turn to tourist rentals, which are much more profitable.
“Tourism is absolutely essential for Spain” but action must be taken to address its “negative effects”, acknowledged Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu at the end of June. “We are not going to ban 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 reference in summer tourism,” he said at the beginning of July.
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 by 2029 to facilitate access to housing for residents.
An approach encouraged by the government of the socialist Pedro Sánchez, who is working on the creation of a register of tourist and seasonal accommodation in order to combat the illegal rental of certain apartments. This register could be available “in March or April 2025”, Jordi Hereu specified on Thursday.
“The unlimited growth of tourism in high season in regions under tension is clearly not sustainable,” acknowledges Exceltur, which nevertheless warns against the reactions of some locals – tourists have been attacked with water pistols 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.