🧵I'm seeing a lot of US Americans on social media who have 'discovered' #Alicante. I see walking tours around very nondescript, modern residential streets like "w-o-o-w". Don't get me wrong, as a Spanish citizen, I spend a large part of my year in Alicante province. Nice weather, good food, nice beaches. But most of the centre of Alicante and the #touristtrap restaurants serving evening paella - meh.
🧵What I do fear for Spanish people on a normal Spanish income in Alicante city is that it will soon be impossible for them to afford to rent, yet alone buy, a home anywhere near the centre of town.
We need a meaningful per-person, per-night tourist tax. Barcelona (actually all of Cataluña) already had this in place since 2015 and it's around €5 per person, per night. The system works. I propose raising that to €15 for non-Spain-residents. For ALL of Spain.
🧵I propose the tax income could subsidise housing for Spaniards who can't compete for accommodation with wealthy foreigners. Plus it will reduce the total volume of tourists by cutting the bottom of the barrel, low-profit, all-day-breakfast, €2 a pint, vomit on the pavement kind of tourists that nobody wants. Those tourists will find somewhere else to get legless at lunchtime.
#lagerlouts #britsabroad #spain #tenerife #playadelasamericas #benidorm #spain #overtourism #Gammons
Marcus Jenkins