Revealed: Where Spain WANTS British tourists to visit - including 'secret island' that's as pretty as Ibiza
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Spanish tourism officials say Britons are still welcome in Spain this summer - they just need to discover the country's 'still unknown' destinations, including a beautiful island that gets just a few hundred visitors a year.
This weekend once again saw impassioned anti-tourism marches, which included banner-carrying locals and children squirting tourists with water pistols, in Palma de Mallorca, Barcelona and Ibiza.
Thousands of locals came out to protest - and tell Brits to 'go home' on Sunday as part of widespread protests against 'over-tourism'.
Holidaymakers were visibly stunned by the dramatic demonstrations - as fed-up locals were seen banging their drums and chanting slogans as tourists tried to enjoy bars and restaurants on Sunday afternoon.
The protests were the latest in a string of marches that have targeted key Spanish tourist destinations in recent months.
On Friday, the UK Spanish tourist office unveiled a list of the country's relatively unknown regions and destinations, in the hope that holidaymakers will point their compasses in the direction of less crowded destinations without abandoning Spain entirely.
Pedro Medina of Spain's Tourism Office in the UK, said: 'Tourism in Spain is a story of success. But I would say it is still a relatively unknown country for tourists.'
Britons visiting Spain currently account for 19 per cent of its overseas tourism, but around 80 per cent of that figure is solely focused on five popular regions: the Balearics, the Canaries, Andalucia, Catalonia and Valencia.
Tourists nursing drinks in Palma de Mallorca this weekend look on as anti-tourist demonstrators hold a banner reading 'For the right to a decent life'
El Hierro, the Canaries' westermost island, gets a tiny fraction of visitor figures compared to its bigger siblings, including Tenerife and Lanzarote
Murcia in the south-east is Spain's least visited big city, despite being close to the coast and having Roman and Moorish architecture - but that could change as the tourist office pushes tourists to lesser known destinations
Those seeking an island escape without the masses should consider El Hierro, the westernmost - and quietest - island in the Canaries, which boasts beautiful beaches, spectacular volcanic scenery and historic towns, but recorded just 200 arrivals in 2023.
Manuel Butler, Director of the Spanish Tourist Office in the UK, said tourism strategies were now focused on pushing overseas visitors to different corners of Spain.
He said: 'We're not chasing volume, we're chasing diversification - in geography, season and demographic - to ensure tourism in Spain remains resilient and beneficial to both visitors and residents.'
Northern Spain is also likely to see huge investment in its tourism infrastructure in the coming years - because it has lowly tourism figures compared to the rest of the country, and enjoys cooler temperatures, which could prove enticing as Spain's summers continue to get hotter.
The country's least-visited beaches lie on the Cantabrian coast, in Marina Lucense in Galicia. Only 1,800 tourists from Britain visited the destination in 2023, a tiny 0.01% of overall tourism figures.
Also in Northern Spain, the wine-producing province of La Rioja is also tipped to enjoy an influx of British tourists thanks to its quiet towns and rolling vineyards - but currently takes just a 0.06% share of the UK market.
City breakers might swap out Barcelona or Madrid for Murcia, with tourism officials pushing the south-eastern coastal city, the least visited of Spain's top ten biggest urban destinations.
Alongside coastal activities, great tapas and plenty of shopping, the city has historical treasures to explore, including Roman and Moorish sites.
The White Isle kicks back: Protests also took place on the Spanish island of Ibiza in front of tourists eating their meals
Jessica Harvey Taylor, Head of Press at the Spanish Tourist Office, said tourism strategies would now focus on getting people to discover unknown Spanish destinations sooner rather than later, saying: 'We want to share visitor numbers [across the country].
'If we look at visitor stats at the moment, it's focused on our islands: the Balearics, the Canaries and Andalucia, Catalonia and Valencia. The rest of Spain is a huge country and geographically diverse and receives very few visitors.'
In Mallorca this weekend, demonstrations began at Plaza de España, in the heart of the tourist city, shortly after 6pm. Activists claim more than 30,000 people took to the streets to voice their frustrations about the impact of tourism on the island.
Placards held up by marchers read: 'Tourists go home', 'Mallorca is not for sale' and 'Mallorca is not your cash cow… go home.'
Footage shows Brits visibly shocked by the demonstrations, while some tourists were seen taking refuge on their accommodation balconies.
Other signs read: 'Your vacations, our anxiety.'
Dozens of placards read 'tourists go home… refugees welcome', while a group of teenagers could be heard chanting 'tourists go home!' as they marched through the city.
Children taking part in the protest were seen carrying water pistols, with plans to spray holidaymakers as they passed them.
'Mallorca is not for sale' reads a protest banner held by a girl in a march against housing prices and the impact of tourism on the residents of the Balearic Islands, in Palma, Mallorca, Spain, April 5,
Protesters were heard chanting slogans against Airbnb and 'guiris' - the Spanish slang term used to describe Brits and other foreigners.
One placard read: 'Rich foreign property buyers go to hell', while another said: 'Enough is enough.'
Local resident Oriol, 40, told MailOnline: 'I'm protesting because I don't want 80% of my money to go on rent.
'I don't want to be forced to speak only English or German in by apartment block.
'I don't want my friends to have to go to the mainland when they have children just to be able to afford a dignified life, a lot of us are fed up.'
Alex, 32, has a masters degree and a well-paying job. He told MailOnline: 'I'm here because I cannot afford to buy my own place, I'm having to live with my parents because the rent is also too much.
'There are also far too many people coming to the island for holiday, our resources cannot cope, there needs to be a limit.'
The demonstrations are taking place in major destinations including Barcelona, Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca, San Sebastian, Granada, Tenerife and Malaga.
The north, including Galicia and La Rioja (pictured), could entice Brits in future - because of cooler weather and less tourists
Other European destinations involved in the action include Venice in Italy and Lisbon in Portugal.
The action is designed to 'call attention to the social and environmental costs of overtourism.'
The protests have been organised by the Southern Europe Network Against Touristification (SET), and are supported by local activist groups.
Many locals living in tourist hotspots in Spain believe the industry's model has become too excessive.
They say the numbers of visitors continue to increase year by year, creating an increasing demand on local resources.
They also complain that the overwhelming amount of tourist activity is causing environmental pollution, particularly in Tenerife, where natural landscapes are not being properly protected by local authorities, while a surge in pleasure boats and sewage waste are polluting the marine environment, they claim.
Daily Mail
