Calling for “a global strategy” to mitigate the negative effects of tourism, the TUI CEO defended package holidays where tourists stay in hotels as they do not take away houses from locals.
“It is difficult there (in Majorca) if foreign tourists buy practically all the houses because they have 10,000 euros more. I always like to refer to the Danish model; a German cannot buy a house for private use in Denmark”, said Mr Ebel.
Over the past decade, the cost of housing in Spain has skyrocketed by 68 percent, and locals believe the prices are been pushed up by the huge number of holiday rentals.
On June 21, Barcelona Mayor Jaume Collboni announced that more than 10,000 tourist apartment rentals in the city would be banned by 2028 in a bid to rein in the housing crisis.
Majorca was recently ranked the most unwelcoming location in Europe for British tourists by The Telegraph.
Despite the perceived hostility, fuelled by the many anti-overtourism demonstrations that have been sweeping across the whole country since April, Spain remains the most popular location for Brits to spend their holidays abroad, with 17 million UK holidaymakers heading to the country in 2023.
And Brits have not been put off by anti-tourism tensions, as it is estimated that more than 6.3 million UK holidaymakers visited Spain between January and May of this year.