Two rather conflicting reports published in the last couple of days have left me rather non-plussed.
According to the INE (the Spanish National Statistics Institute), Spain is the most economically successful country in Europe, as reported online by Microsoft News (MSN) and also covered by The Olive Press newspaper, for the sixth quarter on the trot. Annual growth is set at 3.6% against a previous forecast of just 0.6%.
[Image courtesy of Marketing Teacher]
Yet the headline on this week's SUR in English tells readers:
"Costa del Sol bars and restaurants see sales slump over summer".
(Please click on hyperlink below)
[Sur in English]
Preamble
Not exactly contradictory, I suppose, but rather two different sides of the same coin.
And all summer we have seen anti-tourism demonstrations in major cities like Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Malaga and also in Mallorca, Tenerife, Sevilla and Cadiz. These are protests against the lack of supply of long-term rental accommodation for local workers, because owners prefer the more lucrative option of renting to tourists for greater financial gain.
[Photo courtesy of The Daily Express]
A recent report about Santiago de Compostela, the capital of Galicia and endpoint of the pilgrimage routes known as the Camino de Santiago, has suffered a similar fate, in that residents the old town have been priced out of the area and local shops like butchers, bakers and greengrocers have closed to be replaced by souvenir shops, ice-cream parlours and off-licences.
Overcrowded Santiago [Travel Industry Today]
What next?
Barcelona has gone so far as to ban AirBnb, booking.com and the like from 2026. But they have important industries other than tourism, such as ship-building and car manufacturing.
Madrid also has heavy industry round about.
But Valencia and Malaga and island cities rely heavily on tourism. Without the income from foreign visitors they will gradually wither and die.
STOP PRESS:
Another set of figures has been published today, also from the INE, which adds to the confusion. A report in the right-wing Spanish daily, El Mundo, proclaims that inflation is about to rise again to 2.9% because of the increased cost of petrol and electricity.
El Mundo : La inflación en España vuelve a subir hasta el 2,9% en septiembre por la gasolina y la electricidad.
Por Alejandra Olcese
https://www.msn.com/es-es/dinero/economia/la-inflaci%C3%B3n-en-espa%C3%B1a-vuelve-a-subir-hasta-el-2-9-en-septiembre-por-la-gasolina-y-la-electricidad/ar-AA1Nv7xe?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=e5693de4303e4531abd2e93bb6ed0d90&ei=9
© Paul Whitelock
Links:
Costa del Sol hospitality industry closes summer with decline in consumption | Sur in English
Boost for Pedro Sanchez as Spain’s GDP grows 0.8% in second quarter of 2025 - Olive Press News Spain
Pictures:
Marketing Teacher, The Daily Express, Travel Industry Today, Trip Advisor,
Thanks:
Alejandra Olcese, El Mundo, INE, Instituto Nacional de Estadistica, MSN, Microsoft News, Paul Whitelock, SUR in English, The Olive Press
Tags:
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