Is anybody avoiding booking holidays to Spain due to the demonstrations?

[SmileLady]

I added this on holidays board but no responses yet...

Just wanted some advice. I have only been to Spain 3 times in my 46 years. Times 1 &2 were educational trips when I was a student. But last year as a family we went to Mallorca for the first time in October and really enjoyed it. We stayed in a hotel, rented a car and did loads of day trips. The weather was terrible but we made the most of it.

We are a family of 7 (2 adult children, 3 younger kids, and us, of course). However, we are being put off by the demonstrations. We thought this time, we could maybe fly into Madrid, spend a few days in a B&B seeing the sites, and maybe get a train to Valencia and stay somewhere for a few days. Older children may not come straight with us, depending on work/sports.

However, DH now says we should respect the Spanish and not go if they don't want tourists.

Just to clarify, our ethnic origin is a very popular tourist island in the Med, and DH and I grew up working in the tourist industry, as did both our families. So I have seen the effect of limited tourism on the economy of an area.

Anyway, am I mad to still plan this trip?

I’m currently in Malaga and heading back to Madrid for a week on Friday.
(Flew into Madrid originally as cheaper then got a train to Malaga)
Wasn’t aware of any issues until I read the post!! Not seen or heard anything.

Been lovely so far :)
Even managed to fly out the day before the IT issue 👌🏼

We went to Mallorca at the start of the month. We had a great time. People were their usual friendly selves! The protests aren't about the tourists as such, it's how the locals struggle to afford to live in the areas their families have always been. They aren't daft, they realise they need tourism, it just needs to be managed better.

I say go. You aren't the problem. The problem is with their governments not regulating things properly.

I’ve been to Spain three times this year; would not put me off. The protests have been taken out of context by the UK media imo. The people are protesting about specific things, not tourists in general. Book the holiday!

Went to Barcelona last summer and Seville this spring. No issues whatsoever. It’s not just British tourists. We are always respectful and don’t do the brits abroad style holidays .

Agreed and as someone else said. They are curt at best in most countries. They are like Nazis in some States of the US and Prison Guards in the other states!

I’m in Tenerife right now - it’s fine! No issues to report, no protests and no unwelcome feelings!

We've just come back from two weeks in the Costa de la Luz. No problems to report, although we were a rarity being English tourists, as it's predominantly Spanish holidaymakers there!

Spent a week in Barcelona in the past month. Didn’t see any of that. Or felt threatened in any way - I travelled with my young child.

If I’d booked I’d still go, but if I hadn’t I’d choose somewhere else where they wanted tourists and wanted my money. So many places to choose from.

Have those of you commenting on airport security staff never flown from Stansted?!!

”wakey wakey walkey walkey yeh muppets”

A few people are commenting on the Brits Abroad style holidays.

I live in San Sebastián which is a high end destination because of its gastronomy. We get huge amounts of tourists each year (most Dutch, then German, then British I think) and they are all what the town calls “high quality tourists” and they don’t get drunk or make noise and they are polite and respectful.

It is still a huge problem, as more and more 4* hotels go up where we need housing, the council has given away public sports fields to build a fancy new gastronomy center, we’ve had roadworks for years so they can build an unnecessary metro and pintxo prices double in summer. House prices there are now the highest after Madrid. 3 bed normal flats going for a million euros.

We haven’t had any demonstrations as far as I know, and I’ve never seen or heard anything directed at the tourists themselves(I’m english so in summer it’s always assumed im a tourist) but there is frustration with the way the mayor is throwing money at the tourism sector with gay abandon and ignoring the impact on young families. Schools are closing as families are forced out. My DS is in a class on twelve kids. In a city!

That’s really sad @CarolynKnappShappeyShipwright , thank you for sharing.

We're sailing to Santander on Friday and staying in Biarritz. We're planning a day trip to San Sebastian and have no concerns. I might think twice if we were actually staying in Spain itself, but I should think the cities do very well from tourism and protests are not widespread.

Incidentally, the scariest and most unfriendly border control I've ever encountered was in the US. Mind you, it was only a few months after 9/11 and my (male) friend and I accidentally mixed up our passports on the aeroplane, so I can't say I blame them! We were only 22 at the time.

I've been to Spain lots of times and I always thought there was a lot of Spanish people who were deliberately rude, unhelpful or unfriendly to tourists/ foreigners. It was always kind of low level annoying stuff, like being ignored in a café. Or your kid being made unwelcome. Or being overcharged. Or being sent in a wrong direction. It was never a massive issue and was not done in an evil sort of way but it was always there.

I just see it as a necessary evil if you want a cheap beach holiday - besides, not all Spanish are like that, there are plenty of nice friendly ones.

If you want a lovely friendly holiday, go to Italy.

I have to say, the immigration control officers were really nice in Majorca! To us anyway.
@CarolynKnappShappeyShipwright that is really sad. I don’t think some appreciate that there is a down side to the tourism industry for residents. It’s absolutely why I’ll be respecting that, in some areas, the people who live there and are struggling with the impact of tourism would prefer us to stay away. For now at least. I’m not entitled and I would prefer not to upset anyone. It’s certainly not just British tourists that this is aimed at from what I understand.

We returned from Spain on July 4th after 11 nights spent in Alicante and Tarragona. Both were busy and the vast majority of visitors were Spanish.That's not too surprising when you think about it! We encountered nothing but agreeable altitudes.
The problem for oversubscribed cities such as Palma and Barcelona is caused by properties being given over to platforms such as Airbnb rather than hotels. This obviously reduces the housing stock for locals.
The wider issue of overcrowding in places like Mallorca, Dubrovnik and Barcelona etc arises in part from an increase in global tourism with new nations travelling more. Cruise ship passenger dumps are often unpopular with many locals. Programmes such as Game of Thrones can encourage a huge increase in visitors to 'remote' areas like the West Coast of Scotland!
It doesn't help that school holidays are all clustered over a limited time span.
We now eschew Airbnb self-catering accommodation, (can't be arsed cooking on holiday), and prefer hotels or dedicated holiday apartments.
I suspect an anti anti- tourist backlash will occur when those whose livelihoods depend on tourism feel it in their pockets.😉
Happy travels folks!

DH and I spent a week in Madrid last month and didn’t see any protestors.

we had a fabulous trip. I would go.

I’m actually in Spain at the moment, 3rd trip this year and not seen any issues.

Exactly, and if the prices of hotels didn't equal, or prove more expensive than an air bnb, more people may shun them. They don't help the issue forcing parents to pay out so much more in the summer hols, meaning facilities are needed so you're not forced to pay for food in restaurants every night.
Hotels aren't always doable, I personally find them difficult with young dcs, and my ND dc would be overwhelmed, and not do well in one. For this reason, we require an appt/air bnb/villa in a quiet area with facilities, but haven't gone for a big company taking away housing from locals.
I think a balance is needed, tourism is essential for their economy, but over tourism is no good either.

Haha. The most unpleasant, miserable, rudest staff I have ever had the misfortune to be yelled at by. I would never fly from Stansted again.

I've been to Spain lots of times and I always thought there was a lot of Spanish people who were deliberately rude, unhelpful or unfriendly to tourists/ foreigners.
Have you ever been to Paris? I wonder why they haven't sold as many Olympic tickets as expected.

Hotels are often cheaper than air bnbs by the time you add in all the extra charges.

It wasn't for us, when we compared like for like. We went through a private owner though, not a company.

I think I would still go as you enjoyed it so much last time.
i can understand your concern, nobody likes feeling unwelcome somewhere, however my friend went a few weeks ago and said she didn’t feel any hostility etc, so I think you’ll be okay xx

We went to Madrid earlier this year and did not encounter any hostility at all.

I thought it mean of the protestors in Barcelona spraying diners at the restaurant - why not go and spray the local councillors or MPs.

Do they not themselves ever visit cities abroad - and how would they like it if they came to London and I water-pistoled them?

I have to go to Spain frequently, I just pretend I can’t speak English.