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?

Me and DP have been together almost 15 years and have only been abroad together 3 times. Twice with DC. We are thinking of going abroad next year for the first time in about 4 years and Spain is off our list.

Returned from Valencia a few weeks ago. No ill feeling at all and had a bloody great time.

They would hate it of course. it would ruin anyone’s holiday. Most Spanish tourism is domestic, in any case. The British media that brought you Brexit seem to be painting it as an anti-Brits thing, it is not.

Please be mindful - Just as most would hate the Spanish to judge the entire British population on the behaviour of (quite) a few drunken louts in Benidorm, so would every Spaniard I have ever met hate to be judged based on a couple of drunken idiots getting carried away with a water pistol in Barcelona.

Do you think they don’t hassle their own MPs?! Actually Spain doesn’t have local representatives like the UK does but I can assure you that the mayors get a lot of flak!

I haven't read all the replies so apologies if I am repeating. I get the impression, from various news feeds, that much of the issue is with resorts like Mallorca where the locals are not so much upset about the tourists per se but the lack of affordable housing for local people caused by the increase in holiday lets. My DH is from Cornwall where this has been a huge problem for years with about 70% of the village he grew up in now being holiday homes.
I don't think it should put you off going but I think in future we are all going to have to look more carefully at sustainable tourism both in terms of local economies and climate change.

I'm a Londoner and we are rude, miserable pricks (apparently) yet still the tourists come.😁

Honestly it has nothing to do with the current protests / anti tourism or even nothing specific to Spain.

Imagine a Spanish - or Italian, German, etc - family in Tesco. They don’t speak english that well and look like tourists: large backpack, the whole family there, kids excited by foreign items on offer ‘MUM! They have Oreo ice cream!!!’ , adults needing some time to convert prices to GBP, they don’t know that bags should be paid for, etc. Do you really think 100% of supermarket workers and patrons will treat them patiently and with kindness?

The main thing as a tourist is to visit mindfully. It is someone's home, not just a destination that exists for your pleasure.

Try and think about your impact on a place and engage respectfully.

How patronizing!!! The impact I had, during my recent holiday, was to increase the local economy. I didn't get leathered, fall over in the street, or get arrested. But thank you for the advice.

I don't understand the problem with supermarkets?

Surely that is the one place where interraction is very limited with anyone! You get your trolley or basket, cruise the aisles, wonder at all the gorgeous different stuff, put it in the trolley/basket. Use google translate to figure out what some things actually are! Queue up at the register or use the self service, pay by card, and off you go. If using the cashier, they always ask if you need a bag which is "Bolsa" a Si or No gracias is all you need, oh and a big OLA to the cashier when putting your stuff on the belt. Normal mannerly stuff and all you need are four words, Ola, Si, No, Gracias.

There are fish counters, and meat counters yes, but for me, that is too bewildering and the language barrier can result in a lot of time used up while others are waiting to be served. I buy pre packed stuff from the fridges instead.

And yet we just entered the supermarket, chose things and bought them, already had bags on us just like a British supermarket! We didn’t have children with us as teens couldn’t be bothered to come with us!

I live in Spain. I have no idea what demonstrations you are referring to. They are all part of daily mail plot to flog UK Plc? Honestly this is news to me. Book a holiday !

DS went to Barcelona recently on a school trip and they witnessed a demonstration but it was peaceful and they didn’t feel threatened at any point. He was upset they didn’t get squirted with water pistols as it was really hot 😂

I really hope that governments start listening and taking action around AirBnBs soon. A small number of rental flats and houses is generally ok but it’s becoming crazy that locals can’t find somewhere to live. I don’t understand why people renting out entire properties that are available for short term rent for more than a certain number of days a year aren’t taxed as businesses and subject to business rates, self-employment National Insurance etc. Then people might stop finding it more profitable to do short term lets than offering rental homes.

@Thursdaygirl yep- I live in Bath and whilst it can be a bit annoying especially at Xmas and bank holidays- it's why we've got lots of 'open' shops and facilities and keeps it buzzing. I want people to have a good time and enjoy it!

It’s a well established myth though isn’t it? I’m from the North - yes we can type (joke) and always find people in London very friendly and helpful when asked for directions etc. My impression is that the lack of smiling etc at strangers, is due to the lack of personal space. I like a visit to London, but a couple of days is enough for me. Too many people, too close.

We’re just back from a week travelling around the Valencia/Costa Blanca region and it was wonderful. No sign of any demonstrations and certainly no hostility. We must have visited 6 different tourist cities/towns in the region. one of our best family holidays. I think it might be different if you were part of a stag/type group or group which might be mistaken for one, but, as a family with teens, we were made to feel as welcome as always.

Were you treated badly?

Increasing the economy isn't the only impact tourists have; it also degrades the environment, alters the culture and increases local prices.
Tourists who state that they spent money make it seem they ate doing locals a favour; it is a transaction, not a donation. The tourist does get something too. PP is correct; tourists are guests, and the destination is not just there for your pleasure.

I’m sure the majority of Spaniards are still welcoming tourists as it’s such an important part of their economy. The inhabitants of the islands just want to have a sustainable model of tourism which respects their rights to housing and avoids water shortages.

I also think it’s a reminder to be mindful of your impact as a tourist when you travel. It’s easy to avoid thinking about it when you think we’ll Im just one person, it doesn’t make a difference but there are too many tourists with that mentality.

You can stay in hotels rather than AIrbnbs, make sure money goes to local businesses and restaurants, go off the beaten track rather than going to the same overcrowded places again and again. A big one for me is speaking the language.

There are way too many British tourists who do not make enough effort to speak the language and be respectful. Neither do they educate their children on the importance of doing so. I say this because I’m a Spanish teacher and I find it incredible how many of my pupils go on holiday go Spain and still tell me it’s pointless learning Spanish. Says a lot about their parents attitude to it unfortunately as their ignorance has clearly been passed down already.

Protests

Same in Cornwall 😬

I agree, don’t we get over tourism in the UK as well? It’s is becoming an issue in a lot of places now. We do get people who don’t learn English as well in the UK, and living here, rather than just a holiday, which is bad enough.
I always make an effort to learn the basics, before travelling everywhere though, despite English being the most widely spoken language in the world, you cannot be complacent. I think everybody should, before entering another country, as well as learning about their culture, and what is polite, or deemed offensive. It is ignorant not to.

So can you advise how I should modify my holiday behaviour, to avoid upsetting the locals? Bearing in we are quiet people in our 50s???

Under tourism would be a major issue too though, and cause an abundance of people to lose their jobs, and businesses. We saw the effect during Covid, and it wasn’t pretty. There is a balance, and it is the government that need to create that balance, starting by capping the amount of large companies scooping up affordable local housing, and turning it into rows of apartments, air bnbs etc. Residents telling holiday makers to go home, and throwing water isn’t the way to go about it imo.

We went to holiday resort in mainland Spain this year. I wasn't even aware of the protests before I went I'm ashamed to say. Didn't encounter any hostility apart from one odd incident. We were sat in an ice cream parlour in a shopping centre and there was a man in the same complex going up in a lift. He saw my DS and gave a rude gesture. DS is a young teen but very tall and looks older, and he was wearing a football top (Spanish team I think). So could be something to do with the football top, the man looked a bit drunk, or could have been to do with anti tourist sentiment - who knows?

The passport control queues in the airport here and in Spain were like nothing I've ever encountered. Its put me off flying next year.

Hotels are better than AirBnBs to an extent, but avoid the large international names which buy up local housing stock in cities and convert them into hotels owned by foreign millionaires, aim for locally owned hotels where possible.

My neighbour in our touristic Spanish city relies on AirBnB-ing her spare room to top up her low pension, our other neighbours are foul to her about it but I do think it’s better her getting the money than Mr Hilton!

Travel only once or twice a year, avoid airbnbs, and support local independent businesses, not chains.

And how do the locals in Barcelona, squirting people with water pistols know if your using chains or shopping in independent stores etc?