Red and Yellow Strategies
Tourism Is Not Welcome!
Trend of the week
It’s Thursday, and it is time for the ‘Trend of the Week’ column.
The people of Spain have been protesting and demonstrating against tourism for a few months.
And we should remember that tourism amounts to almost 13% of the country’s GDP.
The protesters’ demands are clear. The price of long-term apartment rentals has increased by 78% over the past 10 years, while wages have only risen by 16%.
85 million tourists visited Spain in 2023. It’s twice the number of residents.
The bad news is that it attracts many international chains to the country, and they squeeze small local businesses out of the market.
For example, in Málaga, residents were shocked by the closure of El Café Central in the historic city center. The café had worked for 101 years but couldn’t survive the record-high rental rates. Now, in its place, there’s an unremarkable Irish pub that is always filled with tourists.
Locals say that cultural and social life is leaving the cities, and they are turning into backdrops for tourists, entertained by theatrical actors.
As a result, Spain has joined the list of countries that try to limit tourism by restricting the operations of platforms like Airbnb.
While countries and cities are believed to benefit from tourism, some locals see it differently.
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Read also: A $3 Billion Strategic Mistake. The True Story of a Notorious Failure
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