Tourism is one of the engines of the Spanish economy, responsible for 70% of the real increase in GDP last year, but it faces the challenge of continuing to grow without aggravating the social rejection caused by the overexploitation of some destinations. .
With the end of the pandemic, Spain has once again attracted record numbers of international visitors -84 million in 2023-, a massive influx that has revived the perception of crowds, “tourism” and loss of neighborhood identity, and complaints due to the increase in housing prices.
Increasingly deep-seated discomfort
The unrest is increasingly rooted in places such as Barcelona, Seville, Malaga, Santiago de Compostela, Ibiza and Mallorca, and its intensity is worrying in the sector, which dedicates a good part of its internal dialogue to finding solutions to make tourists feel Welcome during your long-awaited vacation.
Most voices in the industry agree on a key premise: stop boasting visitor records and instead value economic benefits.
Tourism activity will generate more than 200 billion euros in 2024, around 13.4% of GDP, and has driven 17% of job creation last year, according to estimates by the Exceltur employers’ association, which brings together the 32 largest companies in the sector.
“If the metrics always praise the volume (of visitors), increasing that volume will continue to be a political and, in some cases, business objective,” José Luis Zoreda, executive vice president of Exceltur, tells EFE, who emphasizes the need to admit that “there are places where we have already reached the limits of growth with the current model.”
Advance in added value
We can continue advancing, however, in added value. Destinations must adapt their offer so that visitors spend more and book longer stays, a change that would allow them to continue improving results without increasing the number of tourists, says Zoreda.
In Turespaña, the public organization that promotes the country abroad, the image of tourism among citizens is also concerned. “We have broken the social contract with our local residents,” said its general director, Miguel Sanz, who encourages the industry and administrations to focus on the well-being of the inhabitants of vacation destinations to continue flourishing.
“Boom” in tourist rentals
The proliferation of private homes rented to tourists is one of the factors that influences the gentrification of neighborhoods and the perception that residents are expelled from their places of residence. This is another of the workhorses of the sector, which emphasizes that its fight is limited to the illegal offer, not the regulated one.
“The problem is not unfair competition,” but the impact on the image of tourism, says the vice president of Exceltur who, like other voices in the industry, points to San Sebastián as the example to follow in this field, both for its regulations as well as by the mechanisms established to ensure compliance – “It is the best urban model in Spain today,” he maintains.
The mayor of the city, Eneko Goia, tells EFE that the main tool to manage the tourist influx is urban planning, the organization of the city itself.
“We have a clear criterion and that is that a home for tourist use is an economic activity. It cannot be that a property is used for an economic activity and continues to be considered residential. That’s cheating,” Goia emphasizes.
The mayor emphasizes the importance of inspections, closures and sanctions to maintain order in residential areas and not commit comparative grievances with those who comply with the regulation.
Avoid crowds
Crowds during the high season in cities and beaches is another factor that fuels the perception of tourist activity as a nuisance.
Between January and November, 3.4 million cruise passengers passed through Barcelona (to embark, disembark or in transit), 1.2 million more than in the same period of the previous year, when the pandemic still conditioned visitor flows, according to data from the City port.
Although the disembarkation of thousands of people at the same time generates a feeling of overcrowding, Mar Pérez, head of the cruise division of the Catalan port, emphasizes to EFE that the arrival of visitors by sea represents a small proportion of Barcelona’s overall tourism (the 4%, according to a UB study based on 2019 data).
The large groups of cruise passengers are “very visible,” admits Pérez, who nevertheless believes that it is a volume of arrivals that “can be managed perfectly,” in part due to the months, and even years, in advance with which the arrivals are known. ship arrival schedules.
It also defends plans to encourage newcomers to visit tourist attractions far from the city center, something that can decongest the most sensitive points, extend the economic benefits of tourism and offer a new offer to cruise passengers who may have already passed through Barcelona on other occasions. occasions.
BY: Mian Saeed Ahmed Khan