It’s one of the most popular countries in the world – and that brings its fair share of challenges. This week on Leaders of Travel, I speak to the Spanish tourism board about siestas and fiestas.
This week the focus is on Spain.
Did you know that last year more money was spent by tourists in Spain than any other country, except the US?
And if you look at the tourist numbers, Spain is the third most popular in the world, after the US and France.
It kind of makes sense, because there are heaps of fantastic destinations in Spain – cities like Madrid and Barcelona, the islands like Ibiza and Mallorca, and then you’ve got San Sebastian and Valencia – and plenty more!
The point is – there’s heaps to do and there’s a huge variety, which I guess is why it’s so popular.
That does bring problems, though – Barcelona is pretty much full to bursting point and it can be pretty painful with the crowds in summer. The party destinations on the coast have a bad reputation for drunken behaviour and worse. And then the whole industry has an issue in winter when the visitors dry up.
So, to find out more about these issues – and some great places where you can avoid the crowds – I’ve gone to the top. To the director of the Spanish Tourism Board in London, Enrique Ruiz, who is in charge of the country’s biggest market, the UK.
What would he do to fix some of the issues that come from so many tourists… well, he’ll tell you himself!
I’ll be back next week with another episode. This time I’ll be taking you on board one of the world’s largest cruise ships and speaking with the guy who’s in charge of making sure everyone’s having a good time.
Until then, my name is Michael Turtle from the travel blog Time Travel Turtle, and you’ve been listening to Leaders of Travel.
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