For the first time ever the Valencian Community has received over 1 million overseas tourists during the month of July. A total of 1,032,582 international tourists arrived in the community showing an increase of 13.4% from last year, according to figures produced by the National Statistics Institute (INE).
There was a significant increase in the number of visitors arriving from France (+ 54.1%), with a total of 236,500 tourists. Italian visitors increased by + 18.7%, Nordic + 15.3% and British holidaymakers were up + 4.7%.
Following the recent massacre in Nice and the attempted coup in Turkey, travellers are undoubtedly seeking new destinations for their summer holidays with Sicily and Spain benefitting the most.
The destinations that are considered risky for summer holidays are naturally deserted by tourists. Turkey is one of the examples – in 2014 the country was the sixth most desired destination, but now, according to many tour operators, the county has almost disappeared from their offers.
The same is true for Tunisia considered unsafe since 2015, after the massacre on the Sousse beach and the massacre at the Bardo museum. The consequences of the Nice massacre in France have not yet been calculated, but the flow of tourists has almost halved in the country since the Paris attacks in November. Finally, the amount of flights to Egypt, Morocco and the whole North Africa was reduced as well. Greece has also reported weak season thanks to the masses of migrants coming to the country.
Spain on the other hand benefitted immensely from the impact of fear since the country is regarded as a safe destination for summer holidays. The Canary and Balearic Island even reported an increase in demand of 30-35%.
Indeed Spain’s strategies to attract visitors and increase the number of tourists have caused the density per square meter in some areas of the country to exceed the limits of what is reasonable according to the critics.
In this situation, some municipalities put restrictions on the number of tourists booking their holiday within the communities. Fuerteventura put a 2.5 million cap on the numbers that it can accommodate without jeopardizing the quality of life. Whilst tourists are looking for sun, which is free, they are also consuming services and resources.
