Spanish travel industry down but not out
A number of Spanish newspapers have picked up on an article in the “Daily Telegraph” that casts an optimistic eye over the future of the long relationship between British tourists and Spain. It stated that in the first half of April Brits looking for flights to Spain increased by a whopping 1,600% from last year, indicating that many are merely postponing rather than cancelling holidays here. The piece then goes on to give 20 reasons why the Brits love coming to Spain so much and are unlikely to stop once things are relatively back to normal.
Food was number one with long boozy lunches, tapas bars, jamon, prawns, aperitivos and wine all getting a special mention. The great outdoors was another one (the beaches, “white villages”, the wide open spaces in areas such as Aragon and the mountains all being singled out). Culture and architecture were next, specifically Gaudi’s Barcelona, the artsboth old and new, the Santiago pilgrimage and Granada’s Alhambra Palace. Other highlights are public transport (especially trains), the Parador hotel network and the nightlife. Chief travel writer Annie Bennett concluded “last year 18 million British people visited Spain and as soon as the hotels reopen and the streets are full of life once more, we’ll be back, enthusiastically making up for lost time”.
