Brits visiting Spain drops by 20.5%

divosuk said:
Like most average Joes here, I enjoyed the odd trip to Spain, Ibiza etc every few years (in between other places) - but over the last 8 years or so, not only have I noticed the price of things increasing over there (far more than should have) - but the Quality of service seemed to be going down considerably in most places I visited.

This was even before the recent £/euro exchange rate.

But now we have some pretty sharp drops in British tourist numbers - brought on by the recession and excahnge rates.....

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/4799257/Number-of-Britons-visiting-Spain-falls-by-a-fifth.html


There just seems so many 'better' places to go these day, where the waiters actually pay attention, you get good food and drink at a reasonble price & you usually don't have to worry about crime or abbrasive locals who have no understanding of politeness or customer service.

In a nutshell, I really don't think I will be heading back to Spain / Portugal any time soon again unless things really improve & they get their act together again.....
Click to expand...


Perhaps you should go to a part of spain that isn't full of British yobs. Actually, don't.
 
Oxy said:
spain is pants now, its all microwaved crap and cliches. My next destination is florida in may for a mates wedding, yes its ironic, as florida has gotta be the processed food capital of the world :p

I wanna go to Canada, west coast usa, thiland/vietnam/china, new zealand, japan, australia all in the next 10 years.

Don't even bother looking into euro desintations anymore.
Click to expand...

ignorance is bliss
 
divosuk said:
If you had read my other 2 posts - you would see I rarely do.
Click to expand...

I read your posts and understood them well enough. Spain is a country with a very strong identity, wonderful food, varied and interesting culture and excellent service and amenities if you care to seek them out and find them (much like the UK) - if you visit tourist areas where most people have low expectations you can expect those expectations to be met and not surpassed. Do you think a Spaniard coming to London and going to Garfunkels would rave about British cuisine and service? or god forbid one visiting Blackpool and writing home about how un-abrasive the locals are?
 
I went to Lagos.pt from Boxing Day to NYE and found things pretty cheap with good service even if it seemed chockablock full of poms. 'Course it was pretty dead so that probably helped a bit ;)
 
One thing I can't bear about certain Spanish destinations is the constant Only Fools and Horses / Eastenders repeats on the TVs in restaurants, signs advertising full English breakfast, sausage, mash, fish and chips, English newspapers / magazines being sold in newsagents etc. I thought the whole purpose of a holiday was to get away from all this garbage?
 
I find the Spanish to be quite nice people in general. I doubt the British public come across as terribly friendly to most foreigners.
 
Only been there for visiting the theme park in Salou myself! Will probably re-visit at some point too.
 
Von Smallhausen said:
It depends where you go.

Go to Benidorm and expect Blackpool.

Go to Valencia or even Palma City on Mallorca and get real Spanish culture. I try my best to speak the lingo when I am there.
Click to expand...


I used to go to Spain a lot when I was younger, I can't remember a whole lot though we stopped going when I was about 6.

Before then my parents used to go every year all different places :)
 
I've been dragged there a few times by the parents and tbh I'm now sick of the place. The last time I went I was just bored out of my mind. At the moment I'm thinking that I might go without a holiday for while to save up and go to Australia at some point.
 
Greenlizard0 said:
I don't think it's a case of places getting better, it's other factors like cheap flights more readily available to other places that people have been grabbing up.

Why spend so much money to lie on a beach for 7 days, when you can do exactly the same in another country? ;) :)
Click to expand...

this is so true.

i live in belgium and seem to end up in florida most of the time as here they seem to charge 800-1000 quid per person july august and i can get a flight to florida via new york or chicago for 500€ by the time i buy all my clothes for the next year at bargain prices it is actually chaper to go there than spain :rolleyes:

+ florida is much more tourist friendly
 
simpletom said:
I love Spain, or more precisely Granada, Seville, Barcelona and Toledo. They have some fantastic architecture, food and history. Just sitting outside a café eating gambas pil pil and mejillones with a good, real coffee rather than the instant Brit café crud.

There is a great place called Thales in Barcelona which is in the Barri Gòtic. It remains full of locals and do not speak a word of English. They serve good sea urchin!

I really don't understand the 'ignorant' Spanish bit. When in Spain you generally get served by people who are far more mature and able than their Brit counterparts. They just come across as far more professional.
Click to expand...

this is true also even in tenerife we stopped at a place in a non tourist destination and had great fun trying to pronounce the food and it was simply amazing tapas better than anything i've ever tasted.
 
Amazing the amount of ignorant and plebby comments in this thread. Spain is a large country of which thankfully only a small proportion has given itself to chav scum resorts. By judging Spain and the Spanish on the pockets that have been ruined by the Brit scummers (and German equivalents) you discount 90 percent of the country. Stick with your package holidays, pictures on your menus and have a good old moan about the situation you have contributed to the creation of.
 
I'll tell you where is cheap and the waiters take notice...Tunisia. It's more expensive to get to however it's really cheap when you get there. I bought postcards and the guy seemed upset I didn't barter for them and gave him the full asking money - they worked out 1-2p each. A big bottle of iced water outside a big tourist attraction (i.e. no back lanes) was 25p. You really can't complain at their prices.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom