Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy has warned that anti-tourism protests in Spain could lead local politicians to introduce or raise taxes on visitors, bringing up the cost to holidaymakers
Jet2’s boss has warned that taxes slapped on tourists could rise as a result of ongoing protests.
Steve Heapy expressed fears that tourist levies could rise in response to overtourism protests in Spain, which have been rumbled on for years and are due to disrupt key destinations this summer. The CEO told a roundtable event at the Spanish embassy in London that he opposed tourist taxes, but feared rises would prove “irresistible”, Travel Weekly reports.
“It worries me greatly that it will constantly creep up in response to overtourism protests,” he said.
Others at the table defended the tax form, including Pere Granados, mayor of Salou. He argued the €1 per person, per day levy at work in the region is a good thing. Mayor Granados said: “The tourists pay tax in the same way as the residents pay taxes. If I come to London, I generate waste.”
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On the flip side of things, Benidorm mayor Antonio Perez, argued that things should be kept “reasonable” when it came to how much tourists contribute. “I’m against a tourist tax because it’s stigmatising the visitors as the ones who are preventing me from having a better city or better services. We need to be the best place to live,” he said
Interest in Spanish holidays continues to rise, despite the protests. Last year, the country saw a record-breaking 94 million international visitors flock to its mainland and many popular islands.
Demonstrations have continued in recent months- with one shocking sign threatening to ‘Kill a Tourist’ popping up in Tenerife. Reports also suggest anonymous locals set fire to rental cars – often used by tourists to explore the island – to make their message clear.
In March, protesters took to the streets of Spain’s second city, targeting a sightseeing bus in Barcelona, which they blocked and squirted with water. The organizers of many of the anti-tourism protests held in 2024 in Mallorca launched a protest in the Northern Spanish city. Catalan Police were called when the campaigners blocked a bus packed with tourists close to the famous Sagrada Familia.
Members of Més turisme, Menys vida (More Tourism, Less Life) launched the action after holding an international press conference. After stopping the bus in its tracks for several minutes, the protesters doused it with water pistols. According to OK Diario, police dispersed some of the activists and detained others.
This tourism-phobic group from Mallorca carried out several pressure actions against tourists last year, both in Palma and on iconic beaches like Caló des Moro, as well as two demonstrations with thousands of people protesting against tourism in the streets of the Balearic capital.