Spain Talks 2025: Busy destinations must set limits on tourism, forum told Continued from page 48


and premium economy are doing better than we might have expected.” Iata reported North American


airlines “continued to weigh on global performance with a second month of decline” in traffic in March amid “tepid” worldwide traffic growth. It noted demand lagged capacity increases “across domestic and international markets” in the month, but North America “exhibited the widest disparity, driven by softening in the US domestic market”. Traffic between Europe and


North America fell by 1% year on year – the first decline in four years. Complicating the picture,


Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) reported “choppiness in customer behaviour related to European itineraries” in April. Chief executive Harry


Sommer said: “We saw some hesitancy for American customers to do long-haul trips . . . [with] some pressure on the third quarter [July to September] in Europe. We’ve seen two to three weeks of challenging bookings.” Mark Kempa, chief financial


officer, added: “Americans seem a little more comfortable closer to home because of what is happening.” However, Royal Caribbean


Group reported “an uplift in demand”, with chief executive Jason Liberty noting: “It’s counter- intuitive to some of the reporting around consumer confidence.” But he acknowledged: “Things could change.” Royal Caribbean recorded


a $700 million profit for the three months to March against a $40 million loss at NCLH. Lufthansa lost €885 million in the same quarter and Air France-KLM €249 million.


Leading Spanish cities say ‘tourism limits are good’


Travel Weekly reporters


Two leading city destinations in Spain have confirmed they aim to cap visitor numbers to address residents’ concerns following protests about the impacts of overtourism. Speaking at a Spain Talks forum


on sustainability organised by the Spanish Tourist Office in London, the heads of tourism in Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona agreed in urging: “Let’s not be afraid to discuss limits.” Pedro Homar, managing director


of Palma de Mallorca Tourism, said: “Residents are our priority nowadays.” He noted Palma had “slashed


marketing budgets in the last three or four years” and told tour operators: “I’m sorry for that.” But Homar insisted: “Limits are good. Let’s not be afraid to discuss limits.” Barcelona Tourism director general


Mateu Hernandez agreed, saying: “We’re 100% the same in Barcelona. The city began to do this – no more


Sunvil chairman backs destinations to protect residents


Europe’s mass-market destinations should set tourist limits, Sunvil Holidays chairman Noel Josephides told the Spain Talks forum, arguing tourism’s negative impacts had been exacerbated by the growth of unregulated accommodation providers such as Airbnb. He urged destinations to copy


cities such as Barcelona in imposing 46 8 MAY 2025 Mateu Hernandez (left) and Pedro Homar


hotels, no more tourism flats, no more cruises, no more tour groups.” He noted visitor numbers


of 15 million to the city in 2024 showed no increase on 2023 and said: “This is not a failure – this is what we’re looking for.” Hernandez said residents of


Barcelona “want this balance” and “we don’t want visitors to feel crowded”, arguing: “Our challenge is to answer the question, ‘Can tourism save us from tourism?’” He described the protests against


tourism as “sad”, insisting “it’s a minority who don’t want tourism”,


a ban on holiday apartments, saying “what Barcelona has done is what other destinations should be doing”. Josephides warned destinations


not to leave it too late, saying: “Before you know it, it will be too late. You have to catch this before it becomes ‘terminal’. The sheer volume [of tourism] that can be unleashed in a destination is quite frightening. “Nothing is done in moderation


in this industry. You very rarely hear a destination say it will have the same number of tourists next year. The onus is on the destination to look after itself.”


but said: “We want to prioritise who sleeps [in the city]. Our priorities are conferences and events – we’re investing €400 million in infrastructure for conferences – and culture.” Homar added: “We have a cap of 12,000 beds in the city – 95% in four and five-star hotels. We hardly have two and three-star hotels. We’re positioning ourselves as more upscale. We limit daily cruises. We want to manage the destination – we’re not in the business of marketing it.” The mayor of Palma, Jaime


Martinez, said: “We have to control the number of visitors. We want Palma to be a reference point in the travel market.” Tui head of sustainability Ian


Corbett said: “Tui wants to be part of the solution. Destinations have their limits and it’s for destinations to decide what tourism they want and how much. It’s important we put as little additional strain on destinations as we can. It’s about well-planned, well-executed, controlled tourism.”


Noel Josephides Extending the peak-season


duration in resorts could help “to a certain extent” but needed “investment in infrastructure”, he said, while tourist taxes, such as those in the Balearics, could help provide revenue for investment.


travelweekly.co.uk


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