Spain

On Thursday the village began its latest attempt to attract new residents with a bargain sale of eight plots of land. Lots start at €200 (£160) for 60 sq metres (645 sq ft)2 while €300 will buy you 87sq m (936 sq ft). The most expensive plot of land costs €1,300 for 205 sq metres. The only requirement for all of them is that buyers must build a house or business on the land within two and a half years. … [Read more...] about ‘Oldest’ village in Spain sells cut-price plots of land to attract new residents

It is a movement primarily spawned and supported by young Spaniards, yet in Madrid its leaders include a septuagenarian, laughs Carmena, pointing to the nearly 50-year difference that exists between her and the youngest member of her team. “It’s curious. It was like all of a sudden they looked at me and said, this generation did things that were very interesting. And in me they saw – I don’t know – maybe a caring grandmother.” … [Read more...] about Manuela Carmena set to lead Spain’s ‘indignados’ to power in Madrid

He is not alone in thinking this. A record 68 million tourists are expected to visit Spain this year, driven by the strength of the pound and US dollar against the euro and the ongoing instability in northern Africa. But across the country, authorities have honed in on one particular figure that has been in decline since 2007: the amount being spent per tourist. … [Read more...] about Canary Islands – tourists need to spend money outside all-inclusive hotels

One protest this week saw locals take to the streets armed with a home-made map, detailing the location of apartments on rent for tourists. The protesters then sought out the owners of these tourist lets, confronting them and urging them to close their businesses for the good of the neighbourhood. While municipal officials say there are 72 licensed tourist rentals in La Barceloneta, a quick search of online rental portals like Airbnb show more than 600 tourists lets available in the area. … [Read more...] about Naked Italians spark protests against antics of drunken tourists in Barcelona

This is – clearly – a generalisation. Lots of people go on holiday without taking their clothes off in public once. On the quiet Greek island I visited there was no sign of any of this summer’s widely reported drunken horrors. I got the impression some of the bar owners might have welcomed a bit of mayhem, if only to fill their half-empty terraces. Yet it is clearly hard for people to leave digital devices and the culture of self-display they promote behind. This picture reveals how that modern narcissism can turn tourism into a noxious plague. … [Read more...] about The naked Italians in Barcelona are a sad reflection on modern tourism