The Easter break is like the Community Shield (or perhaps the Queen’s Club Championship or Baftas) of holidays; because it gives an idea of what we can expect from the upcoming main event.
Fortunately, the travel chaos caused by last year’s strike action both domestically and internationally has not been repeated. But after the Easter holidays, we now have a clearer picture of where tourist problems will be concentrated this summer; protests, drought measures and airport queues affecting British holidaymakers across the continent.
There are still 100 days left until the school summer holidays – a lot can and will happen before then – but let’s take a look at the five key themes that have emerged so far and consider how they might affect your holidays.
Is there a pool ban coming in Spain?
Spain is experiencing its worst drought in the last 200 years; Catalonia, on the other hand, suffers from serious water scarcity. The Sau reservoir, east of Girona, once attracted tourists with its sunken church and village, but these are now visible entirely above the waterline: a symbol of what Catalan President Pere Aragonès calls the “new climate reality”.
Drought also affects Italy and especially Sicily, where serious fires occurred in the 2023 summer season. This interactive map from the European Drought Observatory highlights the scale of the problem.
In Andalusia, local councils in the Costa del Sol and the City of Malaga banned the filling of private swimming pools with tap water; This means the ponds must be filled with well water or groundwater. This covers tourist rentals, but hotels and sports centers are exempt from the rule for now.
What will be the outcome of holidaymakers going to Spain this summer? There is a risk that your swimming pool will be filled with off-grid water, which will need to be filtered (24 to 72 hours) before use. Some pools may close completely. Since public water taps have been turned off across the country, you’ll probably also have to wait to get home from the beach before washing the sand off your body.
Some accommodation owners in southern Spain fear holidaymakers will cancel if swimming pool use is not guaranteed. Samantha Austin, whose company maintains around 50,000 tourist apartments on Spain’s southern coast, told the local newspaper: Sur in English: “I have many customers who are waiting to hear from me while they are deciding whether to come or not. If there is no pool, they will change destination this year. “We are having cancellations and there will be more.”
Long queues formed at popular airports
British holidaymakers complained about long queues at Palma de Mallorca Airport. One family returning to Manchester Airport said: Majorca Daily Bulletin He said they had to queue for two hours to go through security checks and passport control. This came after a half-hour wait for their passports to be stamped on arrival. Tui and Jet2 have warned passengers that they may face longer-than-usual waits due to maintenance and a questionable “work by the rules” policy, with staff doing the minimum amount of work contractually required.
In Faro, British holidaymakers reported long delays getting through security. Yvette Hughes shared on X: “What’s going on. “Waiting in line at security for three and a half hours.” She claimed that the passengers did not receive any information about the incident. Another, Parson James, said he had been waiting three hours to clear customs on arrival, and football broadcaster Jeff Stelling also posted complaining about staff shortages at the X and e-gates not working.
A lot could change at these airports between now and summer, so the above shouldn’t be a serious concern for people heading to the Algarve or Mallorca. However, one thing to note is that the upcoming 100ml liquid rule change may cause confusion for departing passengers. This is because some airports in the UK have been given a June 1 deadline, while others, such as Gatwick and Heathrow, have been extended until 2025.
Faro Airport. There is not enough staff, electronic doors do not work. People stayed there for more than 3 hours and did not move. Happy Easter. pic.twitter.com/PuCP6fPDKn
— Jeff Stelling (@JeffStelling) March 31, 2024
Indigenous people living in caves and carts
Activists in Tenerife say locals are forced to live in their cars or, in some cases, in caves, due to a cost-of-living crisis caused by mass tourism. Ivan Cerdena Molina from Tenerife Nature Friends Association (ATAN) said: Olive Presss: “We have nothing against individual tourists, but the industry is growing, growing, consuming too many resources and the island cannot cope with it.
“This is a crisis, we urgently need to change things. People live in their cars, even in caves, and locals cannot eat, drink or live well. The industry’s benefits do not trickle down to ordinary people, whose salaries have not increased for years. “The quality of life is decreasing here,” he said.
Similar complaints were experienced in Ibiza and Santorini, where local professionals preferred to live in their cars due to rising accommodation costs.
Chef César Nebrera told the BBC: “Accommodation in Ibiza is very expensive and is becoming increasingly expensive.” “And the cost of renting is completely disproportionate to the money you make. So living this way is an alternative. It is less comfortable, but it allows me to continue living on the island.” Other locals live in tents or shared accommodation to make ends meet.
It’s a problem British tourists should be aware of when chatting with workers on the Spanish islands this summer; Your friendly chef, waiter or hotel concierge may be staying in much simpler accommodation than you.
‘Tourists are returning home’
The problems created by mass tourism, including the cost of living crisis mentioned above, are bringing some islands to the tipping point. Protests are planned for April 20 on five of the eight Canary Islands (under the banner “The Canary Islands have a border”). At the protests, activists will call on the government to halt tourism growth and introduce a more sustainable tourism model that delivers benefits. residents and the environment.
In Malaga, ahead of the Easter holidays, protest groups placed stickers on tourist accommodation saying “I’m Going Home”, as well as phrases such as “a family lived here”, “this wasn’t my home” and “the smell of dirt”. tourists”. Amsterdam recently relaunched its Keep Out campaign, which aims to keep rowdy British hen groups out of the city.
British tourists can expect more of this as the summer season approaches and anti-tourist sentiment intensifies in major holiday destinations across the Continent. Don’t be surprised if more protests are planned come July and August.
Problems in home soil
There were many examples on home soil where British tourists got the beauty spots a bit wrong. On the south coast, tourists were seen posing for photos inches from the cliff at Birling Gap. Photos have also emerged from Snowdon showing scores of walkers snaking their way to the top of the highest mountain in Wales to capture the perfect photo. It’s a rising trend in the national park, where mountain rescue teams have complained about groups trying to scale the summit in high heels.
There were also many examples of British passengers causing problems on planes during the Easter holidays. A man on a Ryanair flight from Manchester to Alicante caused an emergency landing after drinking a bottle of Disaronno. Another flight from Manchester to Dalaman was forced to divert to Serbia, where an unruly passenger was filmed being removed by police. Don’t be surprised if there’s more news along these lines in late spring and summer, as the stag season kicks off in destinations like Prague, Krakow and Ibiza.