Spaniards struggle to enjoy their own beaches in tourist deluge

Bathers cool off in the water while others sunbathe on a Barcelona beach, Spain, Wednesday, July 24, 2024. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti,File)

MADRID - International holidaymakers are keeping Spaniards off their own sun-kissed beaches due to ever-rising hotel and rental prices during an unprecedented tourism boom.

Spain’s top 25 Mediterranean and Atlantic coast destinations saw local tourism drop by 800,000 people last year whereas foreign visitors rose 1.94 million, according to previously unreported official data reviewed by analysis firm inAtlas.

The trend looks sure to continue as the world’s second-most visited country - after France - anticipates a record 100 million foreign visitors this year.

“Prices have risen outrageously. The whole Spanish coast is very expensive,” said Wendy Davila, 26. She canceled an “exorbitant” trip with her boyfriend in Cadiz on the south coast for a cheaper visit to the inland city of Burgos, famed for its Gothic cathedral and the tomb of 11th century commander El Cid.

“Now you don’t go on holiday wherever you want, but wherever you can,” added Davila, who is nostalgic for childhood beach holidays in Alicante on the Mediterranean.

With a population of 48 million - half the number of foreign visitors each year - Spain relies heavily on tourism, which contributes more than 13% of GDP.

But protests are growing over housing shortages exacerbated by mass tourism - and could be exacerbated by the indignity for Spaniards being priced out of their favorite holidays.

Hotel prices have risen 23% in the past three years to an average of 136 euros (US$159) a night, according to data company Mabrian.

Beachfront rentals have also climbed 20.3% since mid-2023, according to price monitoring firm Tecnitasa, with most of them booked out for the summer by the first quarter.

“It is becoming increasingly difficult for Spanish holidaymakers to afford beachfront tourism rentals,” said Tecnitasa Group President Jose Maria Basanez.

Foreign tourists stayed an average of eight nights at top Spanish beaches last year, with locals only affording half that time and spending a quarter of the money, inAtlas said.

In fact resort hotels are modifying down their forecasts for this summer, even despite the foreign boom, partly because places where residents tend to take their holidays expect slower sales.

Spaniards also made near 400,000 fewer trips to the country’s major cities in 2024 compared to the previous year, while foreign tourist visits there increased by almost 3 million.

Going inland

Aware of the brewing discontent and disparities, Spain’s socialist government is encouraging international tourists to explore inland attractions to address overcrowding and diversify.

“If we want to continue to be leaders in international tourism, we have to decentralize our destinations,” Tourism Minister Jordi Hereu said at the launch of a first campaign to highlight Spain’s lesser-known charms in June.

“We want Europeans and those from other continents to rethink their idea of the Spain they love and visit so much.”

Spaniards have a strong tradition of escaping for family holidays in the hot summer months, but they are turning more to Airbnb rentals than hotels, and swapping Catalonia or the Balearic Islands for lesser-known destinations in Andalucia or Castille and Leon where prices are lower and mass tourism is yet to hit.

Last year, 1.7 million more Spaniards holidayed in generally more affordable inland areas, according to inAtlas.

In the mountain town of El Bosque for example, 100 km from the beaches of Cadiz on the Atlantic, the number of Spanish tourists increased by 22% last year.

“There may be a certain displacement effect,” said Juan Pedro Aznar, professor and researcher at the Madrid-based Esade business school, noting Spaniards’ lower purchasing power compared to British and German tourists.

For some Spaniards, it is best to avoid the summer crowds altogether. Nurse Maria de la Jara will stay in Madrid this summer, only going south to visit family in Cadiz once the busy season is over.

“I used to go to my family’s house, but there are more and more foreign tourists in Cadiz and when a cruise ship arrives, the population doubles,” said the 51-year-old.

(Reporting by Corina Pons, additional reporting by Ana Cantero; editing by Aislinn Laing and Andrew Cawthorne)