Responsible tourism in Andalucia

Without doubt, the biggest challenge for responsible tourism in Andalucia is coastal development. Over the past half century, the Costa del Sol has been scarred by giant resorts as well as over 100 golf courses. At least 60 percent of Andalucia’s coastline has been built upon – with a shocking 100 percent of the land in Fuengirola and Torremolinos now developed. The destruction of the coast has been so severe that sand now needs to be imported to the beaches. It’s a tough situation; there is a desperate need for work here (see below), but the highly seasonal jobs in the resort areas do little to counter the high levels of unemployment – especially as many workers are temporary gap year students from overseas, whose earnings depart the local economy when they leave. And as package tourism has always been a race to the bottom – with a week in an all-inclusive resort often coming in at under £200 including flights – there’s not exactly much money to go round in the first place. Combine this with the fact these types of vacations have been falling out of favour for some years now, meaning the price wars get fiercer and the livelihood of entire towns is put at risk – and it’s clear that cheap, package resorts are not going to be the answer to Andalucia’s financial woes. The only people who have truly benefited have been the developers.

Mass tourism also puts huge strain on water supplies in Europe's most parched province – not just to satisfy the thirst of the concrete forests of high-rise beach resorts and plains of golf courses (which can sap the same amount of water as a town of 15,000 people), but also with the mania for vacation villa swimming pools. The problem is exacerbated by climate change. 2014 saw the country’s worst drought in over a century and a half, with soaring temperatures to match. Low rainfall has traditionally been one of southern Spain’s biggest tourism draws – but there is a real danger that the line could be crossed, as demand for water outstrips supply, and the damage to the economy and environment becomes too great. The ensuing failing agriculture, sandless beaches, loss of wildlife (Doñana National Park’s bird population dropped by half as they took flight in search of water) and subsequent risk of flash floods when the rains finally do fall could prove to be a turn off for even Northern Europe’s most hardened sun seekers.

Source: The Olive Press

What you can do
A lack of employment options has created a mass exodus from rural areas to the cities, and with the people go centuries of tradition and connection with the land. By rejecting the widespread package tourism model, and staying in rural guesthouses, fincas, farmstays and other more unusual accommodations, you will generate income and jobs in some of Spain’s neediest communities. Traveling off season is not just more pleasant if you are planning an active vacation – but it also spreads the income across the year, preventing places from becoming cultural deserts outside of July and August.

About an hour’s drive west of Seville, the little town of Écija is known as the ‘frying pan of Spain’. Temperatures here in the height of summer have been known to top 48°C – hot enough, the locals say, to fry an egg on the pavement. And while other parts of Andalucia don’t quite get these extremes, the sad reality is that deadly heatwaves are now a fact of life in summer.

August 2018 saw some of the highest temperatures yet in southern Spain, soaring as high as 45°C in some places. Beaches and coastal resorts, always busy in the summer, get even more crowded as locals and tourists alike flock to the water’s edge to escape the baking heat. These heatwaves can last for weeks, and frequently claim lives.

But it’s not only the sweltering heat that you need to be concerned with. In summer dry vegetation is a tinderbox, and forest fires are a regular hazard in Andalucia, often leading to forced evacuations of homes and hotels, as firefighters struggle to contain and extinguish the flames.

Sources: The Guardian, El Pais

What you can do
The most obvious answer here is not to travel during the summer when temperatures are at their most intense. Andalucia is lovely throughout the year, so there’s no need to subject yourself to the heat, or the crowds, or the higher prices. Many of our Andalucia vacations take you away from the coast and up to higher elevations where temperatures are usually significantly cooler. Even so, in summer you’ll need to ensure you stay well-hydrated and consider adopting the locals’ approach of taking a shady siesta for a few hours from midday. Remember that water supply is a major issue in Andalucia, one of the driest regions in Europe, so keeping your showers to a minimum is important. And of course be as careful as you can not to accidentally start a fire, such as with a carelessly discarded cigarette end.