Responsible tourism in Spain
But perhaps Spain can take advantage of the fact that its tourism has been so concentrated for so long. At twice the size of the UK, yet with less than three-quarters of the population, there are vast, uninhabited expanses, and some of the country’s most stunning sites have barely been explored by locals, let alone tourists. As the economic crisis shreds livelihoods across the nation and unemployment soars, tourism could once again be the answer to Spain’s financial woes. The key is that this time, rather than revelling in the fry-ups, pubs and roast dinners, tourists are appreciating that maybe the best thing about the country is not that you can get an English breakfast in the sunshine, but that it is, most wonderfully of all, Spain.
* Source: BBC
Our Spain Vacations
Altiplano de Granada activity vacation, Spain
Multi-activity Family vacation in the Spanish Lake District
Spanish course & hiking vacation, Picos de Europa, Spain
Spanish classes + stunning hikes in Picos de Europa
Yoga Retreats in Valencia, Spain
Yoga and meditation in the magical countryside of Valencia
Wildlife and walking vacation in the Spanish Pyrenees
A naturalists paradise in the heart of the Spanish Pyrenees
Luxury fitness vacations in Spain
Luxury weight loss, detox, fitness & wellness retreat Spain
Catalonia self guided walking vacations, Spain
Self-guided walking vacations in Catalonia
Catalonia family mountain biking & activity vacation, Spain
Family MTB & activities in the Catalan countryside
Kayaking the Camino de Santigo sea route, Spain
Experience the Camino de Santiago in Galicia by Kayak!
Yoga and walking retreats in Spain
Yoga & Hill Walking Retreats in the mountains near Valencia
Las Alpujarras hiking vacation, Spain
Guided walking vacation, Andalucia, with writer Chris Stewart
Catalonia family self guided biking vacation, Spain
Customised road cycling tour in Girona, Catalonia
Cooking and walking vacation, Spanish Pyrenees
Gastronomy and beautiful walks in the Spanish Pyrenees.
Pyrenees activity vacation
Enjoy an action packed week in the Pyrenees
Picos inn to inn walking vacation in Spain
Hike through beautiful mountains staying in rural inns
Andalucia villa near Malaga, Spain
Idyllic Andalucian farmhouse with stunning private pool
Spain self drive vacation, Rioja & Pyrenees
Premium self-drive through Rioja, the Pyrenees and Barcelona
Budget biking vacation in Spain
Self guided cycling vacation as you live like a local
Learn Spanish & hike the Camino de Santiago, Spain
Spanish Course + walking in the Camino del Norte
Segovia cycling tour in Spain
Cycle Historic Segovia's spectacular plains and mountains
Andalucian self catering apartment, sleeps 6, Spain
Spacious apartment with breathtaking views over Lake Vinuela
Mallorca walking vacation in the Balearic Islands, Spain
Tranquil and timeless landscape dotted with mediaeval villages
Gredos self guided cycling vacation in Spain
Pristine mountain cycling in Central Spain
Photography vacation in Andalucia, Spain
New! Capture beautiful Andalucia with camera & smart phones.
Sierra Nevada winter walking vacation in Spain
Alpujarra walking vacation: sun, snow, and mountain views
Sierra Nevada self guided hiking, Spain
Sierra Nevada and Las Alpujarras self guided hiking
Catalonia family activity vacation, Spain
Family fun with scenic bike rides & adventure activities.
Lanzarote self catering cottage in the Canary Islands
Cozy Cottage, friendly tropical eco village, swimming pool,
Lanzarote north coast villa vacation, Canary Islands
Stunning Villa-Solar Pool-Quaint Fishing Village-On the Sea
Yoga & walking vacation in Spain
Perfect combo of daily yoga & time in the great outdoors
People & culture
Corruption & the brain drain
The Spanish stereotype is its laid-back culture and siesta-fiesta lifestyle. But anyone who has travelled there since financial crisis will have noticed a more serious tone in conversations. With a quarter of the adult population unemployed – many of them long-term – and more than half of all young people out of work, talk of a “lost generation” is very real, especially in rural areas.Corruption at all levels has allowed uncontrolled building projects to spring up across the country – hundreds of unnecessary houses being built in underpopulated regions, the construction of entire airports where planes will never land – obscenely huge projects with built in obsolescence, designed to fail once their contractors had taken their cash and run. The environmental impacts are clear, but as Spain sinks deeper into recession it is the social impact of these doomed projects that is having the most catastrophic effect.
What you can do
Creating employment in rural areas is, fortunately, responsible tourism’s forte!
“The vast oversupply of housing will leave Spain in a hole for generations. In the UK, the recovery is fuelled in part by house price rises, due to the lack of housing. That cannot happen in Spain – there are too many houses. So there’s a massively educated population and they’re all leaving; they’re all going to South America, or northern Europe. Spanish dentists are queuing up for minimum wage kitchen porter jobs in London. That’s the real tragedy.“
Andrew Appleyard, from our supplier Exodus:
“It is incredibly important to keep supporting lesser-known areas like the Picos, Catalonia, Burgos and the Sierra Nevada where there are not many forms of employment. For a walking vacation, so many people flock to the Camino de Santiago – but employment in that area is already good. The lesser known areas are losing all their young people to the cities; tourism is an important part of keeping those communities together. But you need to provide employment for more than four or five months of the year to stop people leaving – it’s very important to those rural economies. People always focus development on the third world – but there’s huge unemployment in Spain and Italy – even in Europe you can make a big difference.”
Wildlife & environment
Save the seas
What you can do
If you are staying in or visiting a coastal area, be sure to check that the beach has a blue flag. This not only ensures clean water for swimming, but also demonstrates your support for local efforts to treat sewage.
Responsible tourism tips
Take your own shopping bag(s) as the market people kindly give you a plastic bag for every item. We ended up with several and that was with trying to refuse! - Jude and Ken Mckenzie, from our reviews