Brits are ditching their Spanish holiday plans and opting to stay closer to home, with a surge in interest for breaks in South West England. Mark Hutchins from Beachlets revealed: "Staycations have become more than just a passing trend. Since 2004, search interest in 'staycations' in the UK has grown by an incredible 9,772 per cent, outgrowing interest in popular international hotspots like Bali, Dubai, Goa and even Spain.".
He added: "Turns out, Brits are becoming far more interested in what's available on their doorstep than jet setting around the world." This shift comes as Spain announces a hefty tax on property purchases by non-EU residents, including Brits, in a bid to address its housing crisis.
Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez unveiled this among other measures on Monday, responding to the public outcry over unaffordable housing prices in Spain, reports Birmingham Live. One critic said: "Spain's economy is tremendously dependent on tourism. The fever to cash in on, 'everything under the sun' has led to millions of Spaniards focusing on tourism. Airbnb and its equivalent has made big bucks for many Spaniards.
"The consequences are now being felt. Solutions for the young and those that rent? Limit tourism, but it just brings too much hard cash into the country for that to seriously happen.". Another person questioned: "I remember in the mid 2000s that there was a house price collapse in Spain that led to virtual ghost towns being abandoned half built. This included major infrastructure projects like airports. Could the government buy these up and fix them up so that they can be rented out as social housing?".
