16 May, 2016 @ 15:49
1 min read

British holidaymakers warned of dangerous ‘crush’ this summer as tourists avoid terror hotspots for Spain

Tourists Spain e
Mallorca

Tourists crowd Palma de Mallorca's Arenal beach on the Spanish Balearic island of Mallorca July 25, 2011. Spain was host to 24.8 million foreign tourists in the first half of 2011, a 7.5% increase over the same period in 2010, according to figures from the Spanish Institute for Tourist Studies. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo (SPAIN - Tags: TRAVEL SOCIETY) - RTR2PA0I

PACKED beaches, gridlocked traffic and unclean water are among the warnings for potential holidaymakers in Spain this summer.

Millions are expected to hit Spain as a safer alternative to terror hotspots like Egypt, Tunisia and Turkey, who have been plagued by terror attacks in recent years.

Environmentalists have warned that Spanish cities could become severely overcrowded, and that their infrastructure may be unable to cope with the ‘crush’.

“This will be a crazy year,” said Gerard Hau, a spokesman for the Grup Balear d’Ornitologia Defensa de la Naturalesa (GOB) in the Balearic Islands.

“The infrastructure will not cope. Mallorca is booked out. We will have serious problems this summer.

“People come here to enjoy life, but they are stressed because they can’t get a seat on the buses – there aren’t enough buses. Already we have 60,000 rental cars on this island.”

The influx of tourists is despite the Foreign Office labelling Spain as a high risk destination following the discovery of several Islamic Terrorist plots aimed at tourists in Spanish hotspots.

The environmentalists have warned of overbookings, gridlocked streets and high levels of stress.

They also suggest there may be issues with water and sewage networks, meaning tourists will not even be able to cool off in the sea.

 

Laurence Dollimore

Laurence Dollimore is a Spanish-speaking, NCTJ-trained journalist with almost a decade’s worth of experience.
The London native has a BA in International Relations from the University of Leeds and and an MA in the same subject from Queen Mary University London.
He earned his gold star diploma in multimedia journalism at the prestigious News Associates in London in 2016, before immediately joining the Olive Press at their offices on the Costa del Sol.
After a five-year stint, Laurence returned to the UK to work as a senior reporter at the Mail Online, where he remained for two years before coming back to the Olive Press as Digital Editor in 2023.
He continues to work for the biggest newspapers in the UK, who hire him to investigate and report on stories in Spain.
These include the Daily Mail, Telegraph, Mail Online, Mail on Sunday and The Sun and Sun Online.
He has broken world exclusives on everything from the Madeleine McCann case to the anti-tourism movement in Tenerife.

GOT A STORY? Contact newsdesk@theolivepress.es or call +34 951 273 575 Twitter: @olivepress

1 Comment

  1. Packed beaches, gridlocked traffic and unclean water are the norm every summer in Spain. As all resident expats know, the best time to leave Spain to get some respite is July and August. I for one can’t wait for a break during those months.

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