UK holidaymakers are planning to boycott popular destinations and even cancel their holidays in favour of places where they would feel more welcome as protests continue to be held across the Balearic and Canary Islands against the threat of overtourism.
Joining the discussions on Facebook, one wrote: “So if the deluded Spanish Islanders don’t want tourists, there are too many tourists, and tourists are not welcome, then tourists WILL (and already are) go to other places where they ARE welcome. These Islanders then can be left to fund their economy with other things, such as their thriving manufacturing industries, financial services and technology.”
Another said: “All UK travel agents should cancel holidays to Spain, Majorca and Tenerife due to non friendly actions against their clients and possible court cases”.
Instead, one commenter wrote: “Go to Turkey it’s very hot in August… cheap to eat and drink and very good value we have been several times and have never had a bad time the locals are friendly to you… give it a go you won’t be disappointed.”
Another commenter, who has plans to visit Tenerife in the coming weeks, said they “will spend our money locally. We have no control over wages, housing or the building of hotels and accommodation. Ask the locals who have either sold or rented their homes”.
“The French don’t spend like the Brits on holiday. The Japanese take thousands of photos but don’t buy anything. The Germans and Scandinavians spend well almost the same as the British but the Spanish economy will notice a real drop in income if they upset their main source of tourism,” another said.
One commenter also told GB News: “We just cancelled our family holiday to Majorca in August. Now going to Greece instead. We used to go to Majorca every year but won’t bother now, they won’t survive without tourism.”
Another agreed and said: “Well of course you are boycotting Spain, only a brain-dead moron spends their hard-earned money going on holiday to somewhere they are not wanted… they will find out the hard way that it will be much harder to get you back than get rid of you.”
Many protesters have stated that they do not want tourists to leave altogether, but want to cut back on mass tourism and move towards more sustainable travel.
Last year, the Canary Islands tourism chief told The Telegraph that they still wanted British tourists to visit: “It is still safe to visit the Canary Islands and we are delighted to welcome you”.
Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Island President, added: “People who come here to visit and spend their money must not be criticised or insulted. We are playing with our main source on income”.
Tourism in Spain contributed 11.6 percent to GDP and 9.3 percent to employment in 2022, while last year tourism exports accounted for 5.7 percent, with the tourism surplus standing at 3.4 percent, not far off the all-time high witnessed in 2017. This helps cement itself as the country’s “main productive sector”, as said by Banco de España.
In 2023, the UK was the main country of origin for international tourism in Spain, with more than 17.2 million travellers arriving according to Statista. France was ranked in second place, but accounting for over six million fewer visitors.