Mass tourism is significantly increasing the revenues of Spain's most visited municipalities while also raising expenses for basic services, leading to financial strains.
Mass tourism has become a double-edged sword for eight of the most popular coastal municipalities in Spain, which collectively account for 19% of the country's overnight stays. While these destinations have seen a surge in revenue from tourism, they are simultaneously grappling with soaring costs to maintain essential services. The mayor of Arona, Fátima Lesmes, highlights that 40% of the municipality's budget is directed towards these services, which include cleaning, waste collection, and safety measures to accommodate the influx of visitors.
The financial imbalance has led local governments to express serious concerns about the sustainability of this tourism model. The towns involved, including Adeje, Benidorm, Calvià, and others, find it increasingly difficult to balance tourism-generated income with the inflated expenditures necessary to support the basic needs of both locals and tourists. For instance, Arona spends approximately 14 million euros annually on cleanliness and waste services alone, a drastic increase attributed to the growing number of tourists.
There is an urgent call from these municipalities for a reevaluation of the tourism framework in Spain to ensure that local budgets can adequately meet the demands placed by mass tourism. Stakeholders argue for a system that allows municipalities to retain a larger share of the profitable tourism revenues to better manage service provision while maintaining the attractiveness of these coastal regions for tourists. Without significant changes, there may be detrimental effects on both the economic viability of these areas and the overall visitor experience.
