Tourists avoiding Spain’s beach resorts as British visitors face summer of protests

Tourists in Spain are increasingly turning away from popular “sun and seaside” resorts, a Spanish government source has told The i Paper, as Britons face a summer of anti-visitor protests across the country.

Spending surveys show that tourists spend more money in rural destinations in the months outside the high season.

Holiday resorts such as the Canary Islands and Balearic Islands, as well as the Costa del Sol and Costa Blanca, remain popular, but tourists are increasingly looking for hidden Spain.

Spain is trying to balance the popularity of its booming tourism sector, which accounts for about 12 per cent of GDP, with growing anger over a housing crisis, which protesters blame on the increasing number of tourist flats.

“What we are seeing recently – and this, for example, is data from an American [credit] card company on card spending to see where spending is happening. It shows that spending is growing, especially in the months outside the summer months, what they call the shoulder months, before and after the summer months,” said a source at the Spanish Economy Ministry.

“And it is also growing in a dispersed way outside the sol y playa [sun and beach] resorts.”

With more tourists travelling to lesser-known destinations, it will relieve pressure on the Balearic and Canary Islands and cities like Barcelona or Malaga where protests were staged last year, the government source said during a briefing for foreign journalists on Monday.

Patrick Millar, of city break specialists Kirker Holidays, said there had been a surge in bookings in smaller destinations away from the tourist trail this year.

“The most dramatic increases are in Madrid, where we have seen a 66 per cent increase this year and Bilbao [in the Basque Country], where bookings have more than tripled compared to a year ago. Both city breaks include our newly launched gastronomic walking tours,” he said.

“Also much in demand are the smaller cities of Ávila, Salamanca and Toledo, where visitors are increasingly opting for our boutique properties and Paradores which have seen more than a 25 per cent increase in bookings to date.”

“For walking holidays, the Camino continues to be our best-selling route in Spain, but this year we are also seeing more interest in lesser known itineraries, including ‘Walking the Catalan coast in style’ and Ronda and the Sierra de Grazalema. “

According to the Spanish Tourism Board in the UK, Britons spent €172 (£148) per day in February 2025, a 11.3 per cent rise compared to the same month last year.