The five least-visited places in Spain that your clients will love
Rioja: the least visited region
With only approximately 10,000 British tourists in 2023, La Rioja is the least visited region of Spain and welcomes only 0.06% of the total number of British tourists that visit Spain each year. With more than 500 wineries, it is internationally known for its red wine production and vineyards. Beyond this, La Rioja has a host of cultural attractions thanks to its links to the Camino Santiago pilgrim route.
Mariña Lucense: the least visited coastal region
La Rioja isn't the only location with barely any tourists, however. Mariña Lucense in Galicia is a little-visited coastal region, which had around 1,800 tourists visiting in 2023, the equivalent of 0.01% of the total British visitors to Spain. The region is located on the shores of the Cantabrian Sea and known for its beautiful mountains and beaches, such as the Catedrais (The Cathedrals).
El Hierro: the least visited island
As the least visited island, El Hierro in the Canaries received fewer than 200 British visitors in 2023, which is equivalent to less than 0.01% of the total British visitors to Spain. As the westernmost island of Canarias, El Hierro is known for its lush volcanic landscape and clear night skies perfect for star gazing.
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Telegraph
a day ago
- Telegraph
What the Spanish really think of the English, according to locals
Spain and England have something of a tempestuous relationship. At points we have been bitter rivals, at others we have fought side by side. We like to bicker over a very large rock. Our royal families have inter-married. The English have stolen plenty of Spanish words (patio, siesta, fiesta, tornado). And, of course, Britain as a whole sends approximately 18 million tourists to Spain each year (only around 2.2m Spaniards return the favour and spend their holidays here). As the Lionesses prepare to take on the Spanish women in tonight's Euro 2025 Final, and millions of British families prepare to fly to warmer shores for the school summer holidays, what does Spain really think of us? We asked our Spanish experts, and two of their local friends (Gina Guillén and Nora Vos Lizari; see audio clips below), to reveal the truth. 'The stereotype of the badly behaved Briton is alive and well' Eddi Fiegel, Costa Brava destination expert The British tourist looms large in the Spanish imagination. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, given that more of us visit Spain every year than any other nationality. It's also unsurprising that the way we're perceived varies quite dramatically depending on where you are and who you speak to. Whilst we're generally seen as polite and respectful, the stereotype of the badly behaved, lager-drinking Briton, having it large it till the small hours is alive and well. Spaniards tend to drink beer in cañas (the equivalent to a half pint), so they're often staggered by some Britons' tendency to down pints in large quantities. They're also surprised at our sometimes devil-may-care approach to sun care. As one Spanish friend told me: 'Spaniards don't understand this hunger to get tanned real, real quick because most of you have very pale skin and the sun here in Spain burns, so it's like 'Wow, they should put way more SPF and be under the umbrella'.' People do, however, acknowledge that most Britons are polite and they're delighted when we make an effort to speak their language and express our appreciation of their food and culture. However, whilst our good manners are seen as a boon, Spaniards are sometimes bewildered when we express our displeasure or complain about something whilst continuing to smile. To locals who, if feeling unhappy, tend to express their displeasure in no uncertain terms, this seems bizarre. 'Since the Brexit vote, the Spanish aren't such big fans' Joanna Styles, Costa del Sol destination expert 'English sounds posh,' my Spanish mother-in-law used to say when she heard me speaking to my would-be bilingual daughters. She, like Spaniards born before or during the Franco dictatorship, felt deep admiration for the British, stalwarts of law and order. Proper. Sensible. The Brexit vote numbed that view, and since then, the Spanish aren't such big fans. They generally divide the British into two camps: those who live in the perfidious Albion, a phrase still used in the press that harks back to the Armada humiliation (piratas is another tag); and those who holiday or live here. The former live in a gem of a country – oh, how the Spanish adore Cambridge and Oxford; they love the shopping and the pomp and circumstance at London monuments; and can't get enough of the chocolate-box villages and rolling hills. Britons who visit or live in Spain are different. 'Why do they burn themselves to a crisp, drink themselves into a stupor and want dinner at 5?,' asks my friend Luis, echoing most of his fellow compatriots. 'We call the British ' guiris ' [an affectionate Spanish word for foreigners, comes from guirigay meaning festive chaos]. They're people who are out of place, disorientated, who come here looking for sunshine, food and the fiestas in Spain, who has no sense of the ridiculous,' says Luis. 'We see funny situations when they try to integrate with the Spanish by joining in the dancing and folklore at our fiestas, but it's obvious and we all know that they have no idea what's going on,' he adds. Spaniards also fail to comprehend why so many British expats – including those who have lived here for decades – don't attempt to speak Spanish. Our long-time neighbour from Clacton said 'Mornin' to my Spanish husband instead of ' buenos días ' for years. 'It's like they think they're better than us,' says Luis. He, like over 49 million others, is hoping La Roja will show just who is superior and beat the British (again) at their game. 'There's a lot of admiration, particularly in sport' Sally Davies, Barcelona destination expert There's no sugar coating it – ask someone from Spain what they think of when they think of the English and you're going to hear one of the following: warm beer, ' balconing ' (the perilous practice of leaping from balcony to balcony after a big Magaluf night out) and the 'lunacy' of Brexit. It could be worse – until surprisingly recently this list would have also included Benny Hill, one of our more bizarrely successful exports. Catalan actor Pep Planas thinks there's a lot of admiration for the English, 'particularly in sport, and especially football,' though the dining culture leaves him confused. 'They have this great cuisine but they don't give food the same value that we do, particularly at lunchtime. We think about meals as a place to be with family and friends, not just a way to relieve hunger.' 'I don't think one should really generalise,' says Mari Méndez from O Grove in Galicia. 'But I do get a very different impression of the English at home from the English abroad. When we go there, they can be a little impolite, and less inclined to help us out when we're struggling to understand something. 'But when they come to my home town they're always charming, very keen to try our food, and to understand the culture and language.'
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Daily Mail
British tourists put on alert as new Greece wildfires spread amid 44C heatwave - as blaze tears through capital Athens
British tourists have been put on alert as new Greece wildfires spread amid a 44C heatwave - as a blaze tears through the capital of Athens. The southern European country was first hit with the scorching temperatures on Monday and they have not relented throughout this week. After the mercury hit a blistering 44C high in Athens on Tuesday, a wildfire has now burned through a northern suburb of the capital, on Saturday. Shocking pictures show homes ablaze while residents of the town of Kryoneri, 12.5miles northeast of Athens, received three SMS warnings to evacuate. Some 145 firefighters, 44 fire engines, ten firefighting planes and seven helicopters remain on site, with Greece asking for six more such planes from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. At least five residents - most of them elderly, with respiratory problems - are being treated by ambulance staff. But Fire Service spokesperson Vassilis Vathrakoyannis said 'the real difficulties are ahead of us', as the hot, dry, windy conditions 'are expected to prevail over the coming days'. And indeed, some 52 wildfires have already broken out in just the last 24 hours - with British tourists under alert by the Foreign Office to be aware of their dangers. After the mercury hit a blistering 44C high in Athens on Tuesday, a wildfire has now burned through a northern suburb of the capital (pictured), on Saturday The Foreign Office updated its advice for British travellers to Greece at the start of this month, warning of the risk of wildfires. It notes: 'Greece can experience extreme natural phenomena such as earthquakes, wildfires, extreme heat and flash floods... 'There is a high risk of wildfires during the summer season from April to October. Advising how to enable emergency alerts from the Greek government for near where you are, it adds: 'Wildfires are highly dangerous and unpredictable. 'The situation can change quickly.' It also recommends tourists consider packing a 'grab bag' of essentials, including passports, ID, phones, chargers, money, bank cards, insurance and other important documents and essential medicine and prescription details. Of the fire in Athens, Mr Vathrakoyannis said: 'There have been reports of damages. We will take stock when the fires have been put out.' The exact origin of the fire is unknown - but temperatures reaching or exceeding 38C, dry conditions and high winds have been said to be fanning the flames. Greece has asked for for six more firefighting planes from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism Under such conditions, wildfires 'expand very quickly and become dangerous', he warned. Three other major fires have also broken out in other parts of the country, on the islands of Crete and nearby Kythera to the south and on Evia, north of Athens. At least 335 firefighters, 19 planes and 13 helicopters are fighting the blazes - but they can only operate in daylight. The Greek government's Emergency Communications Service has issued several place-specific warnings, ordering those in the area to evacuate. A blaze has broken out at the 400-bed Agios Andreas Hospital in the city of Patras, near Athens, on Saturday. The department has warned, as of Saturday evening: 'Smoke in the surrounding area. Stay indoors, close doors and windows. Follow the instructions of the authorities.' On Crete, anyone in the areas of Anidri, Achladiakes, Strati, Asfendiles, Platanes and Azogires has been ordered to evacuate to the town of Paleochora, as of Saturday evening. Anyone in the island's village of Temenia has been told to move to nearby town Kandalos. Those in the Pei and Dokos areas of Evia have been told to evacuate to the nearby city of Chalkida. Meanwhile, those in the island's Pissonas area are ordered to move to the village of Katheni. In the southwestern region of Messinia, those in the Drosopigi and Malthi areas have been told to evacuate to the village of Mila. People in Chrisotopos and Revmatia, in the same part of the country, must move to the village of Zermpisia. Again in Messinia, those in the Aetos area should go to the town of Kopanaki. These are just the warnings issued over the last couple of hours, with many sent out to tourists and residents alike over the course of Saturday. Wildfires, many of them destructive, have become a common occurrence in Greece in recent years. The continent's southernmost nation has always had hot and dry summers but is suffering increasingly devastating wildfires and scorching temperatures. Several blazes have broken out in the country in the past month as the whole of the Europe is hit with a red-hot heatwave this summer. The EU's fire monitoring system warns that the risk of yet more devastating blazes remains high as forecasters predict drier-than-average conditions for much of the continent through August. The high temperatures in Greece this week forced the iconic Acropolis, the country's most visited ancient site, to close for five hours from midday on Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, strict new rules were implemented to protect workers from the heat. Couriers, food delivery riders and builders in the wider area of Athens and other regions were among those ordered to pause work from midday until 5pm. Workers with underlying health issues were advised to work remotely to avoid heat stress. National weather service EMY has said the heatwave that began on Monday is not expected to ease before Sunday. Temperatures were expected to increase throughout the week, after the scorching highs of 44C recorded in Athens on Tuesday. Similarly, across the Balkans, firefighters struggled to contain multiple blazes this week that threaten homes, nature reserves and tourist regions. Seven major fires were reported in North Macedonia, where temperatures of up to 42C were recorded on Tuesday. Five fires were out of control in Albania where temperatures ranged from 37C to 41C on Monday. In Croatia, a fire near the tourist town of Sibenik was being fought by dozens of civil emergency experts and six specialist planes. Some of the fires in North Macedonia had been burning for several days, notably one in the Ezerani natural park close to lake Prespa. The country's mayors have complained they do not have enough resources to battle the fires. According to the mayors' association, the 400 firefighters in North Macedonia are half the number the law lays down as the minimum. Their vehicles are on average 27 years old. Serbia was on a heat alert with highs around 38C on Monday but temperatures were expected to start falling. The country is already suffering from one of its worst droughts in living memory. Northern Bosnia was also braced for temperatures of up to 40C. Bulgarian authorities on Tuesday urged businesses to give away water and cut physical labour during high-risk hours. Meanwhile, Spain struggled to quell a series of wildfires that have already burned through more than 70,000 hectares of land in recent weeks. Firefighters managed to extinguish or control several blazes last weekend weekend but arid conditions sparked two fresh fires near the tourist hotspot of Malaga. One punishing fire was recorded threatening the main entrance of the Andalucia Technology Park (PTA) in Campanillas, near Malaga city. Another was spotted in Casares, near the Ignacio Molina wind farm. In both cases, firefighters and water-dropping helicopters were dispatched to calm the flames. The Italian island of Sicily has also battled several wildfires, with soaring temperatures leading authorities to issue red alert warnings for four provinces this week. Sicily's Forestry Corps and Civil Protection workers were engaged to extinguish the fires, with six water-dropping aircraft drafted in to control the flames. Three of the blazes were located in the northwest in the countryside between the cities of Palermo and Trapani. Two more were reported along the south coast and another in the suburbs of the eastern city of Catania. Horrifying images snapped on Monday evening by residents in Trapani showed thick orange flames scything through bone-dry hills on the outskirts of the city. Last weekend, meteorologists placed the eastern provinces of Catania, Caltanissetta, Enna and Messina under red alert warnings, with emergency services preparing for the prospect of yet more infernos. Wildfires have burned more than 227,000 hectares of land in Europe since the beginning of the year, according to the EU's European Forest Fire Information System - far above the average figure for the first six months of the year. It is not yet clear if 2025 will be a record year, as that will depend on how the fire season evolves in the coming months. But the number of fires in Europe has also surged this year so far, with 1,118 blazes detected as of July 8, versus 716 in the same period last year, EFFIS said. Countries are preparing for worse blazes. Warmer-than-average temperatures are forecast across Europe in August, EFFIS said, meaning fire danger will remain high across much of southern and eastern Europe. While Southern Europe is expected to see normal rainfall patterns, the rest of the continent is expected to be drier than normal in August, EFFIS said - potentially exacerbating fire risk in other regions. Across the globe, 2024 was the warmest year on record, with temperatures exceeding 1.5C above the pre-industrial era for the first time. Research published earlier this month showed the soil surface temperature around Athens rose in some places by as much as 10C since July 2024 after fires destroyed vegetation. Meanwhile, northern parts of the continent battled a different kind of extreme weather this week as deadly storms, tornadoes and giant hail hit France and Germany. Parts of the two nations have been lashed by violent storms that ripped roofs from homes and toppled trees. A tornado tore through an airport in central France, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake, as hailstones the size of golf balls hammered southern Germany. These extreme weather events come after 2024 was officially declared the hottest year ever recorded, with temperatures exceeding 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. The Foreign Office notes starting a wildfire is a criminal offence, even if unintentional. It therefore advises cigarettes are properly extinguished, barbecues are not be lit and no litter is left, especially glass, which is known to start fires. Fires - and being in immediate danger from them - should be reported to the emergency services by calling 112. Their advice should be followed in case of a fire. Tourists can follow @112Greece for official updates and contact their airline or travel operator for assistance with return travel back to the UK in the event of a fire. Further information is available on Greece's Civil Protection website and on the government's advice page for preparing for and responding to extreme weather and natural hazards.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Hawaii becomes latest tourist spot to tackle effect of holiday rentals
Lawmakers on Maui passed legislation on Thursday aimed at eliminating a large percentage of the Hawaiian island's vacation rentals to address a housing shortage exacerbated by the wildfire that destroyed most of Lahaina two years ago. It's the latest action by a top global tourist destination to push back against the infiltration of vacationers into residential neighborhoods and tourism overwhelming their communities. In May, Spain ordered Airbnb to block more than 65,000 holiday listings on its platform for having violated rules. Last month, thousands of protesters in European cities like Barcelona and Venice, Italy, marched against the ills of overtourism. The Maui County Council's housing committee voted 6-3 to pass the bill, which would close a loophole that has allowed owners of condos in apartment zones to rent their units for days or weeks at a time instead of a minimum of 180 days. The mandate would take effect in the West Maui district that includes Lahaina in 2028. The rest of the county would have until 2030 to comply. The council still needs to vote on the bill, but the committee's result is a strong indication of the final outcome because all nine council members sit on the housing panel. The mayor is expected to sign the bill, which he proposed. "Bill 9 is a critical first step in restoring our commitment to prioritize housing for local residents — and securing a future where our keiki can live, grow, and thrive in the place they call home,' Maui Mayor Richard Bissen said in a statement, using the Hawaiian word for children. Vacation rentals currently account for 21% of all housing in the county, which has a population of about 165,000 people. An analysis by University of Hawaii economists predicted the measure would add 6,127 units to Maui's long-term housing stock, increasing supply by 13%. Opponents questioned whether local residents could afford the condos in question, noting that many of the buildings they are in are aging and their units come with high mortgages, insurance payments, maintenance and special assessment costs. Alicia Humiston said her condo is in a hotel zone so it won't be affected. But she predicted the measure will will hurt housekeepers, plumbers, electricians and other small business owners who help maintain vacation rentals. 'It's not what's best for the the community,' said Humiston, who is president of the Rentals by Owner Awareness Association. Bissen proposed the legislation last year after wildfire survivors and activists camped out on a beach popular with tourists to demand change. The University of Hawaii study said because only about 600 new housing units are built in the county each year, converting the vacation rentals would be equivalent to a decade's worth of new housing development. Condo prices would drop 20-40%, the study estimated. The report also predicted one-quarter of Maui County's visitor accommodations would disappear and visitor spending would sink 15%. It estimated gross domestic product would contract by 4%. The mayor said such economic analysis failed to tell a full story, noting families are torn apart when high housing costs drive out relatives and that cultural knowledge disappears when generations leave Maui. The mayor told the council the bill was one part of a broader housing strategy that would include building new housing, investing in infrastructure and stopping illegally operated vacation rentals. He said there were limits to how much new housing could be built because of constraints on water supplies and sewer infrastructure. Tourism would continue on Maui but must do so in a way 'that doesn't hollow out our neighborhoods,' the mayor said. The mayor's staff told council members that visitor spending would decline with the measure but most of the drop would be on lodging. Because 94% of those who own vacation rentals in apartment zones don't live on Maui, they said much of this income already flows off-island. They predicted the county budget could withstand an estimated $61 million decline in annual tax revenue resulting from the measure.
