Alarm as holiday Britons are told they face attacks from violent protesters in Spain
BRITONS holidaying in Spain are being warned that anti-tourism protests could turn violent.
Spanish officials say Left-wing activists are targeting foreign holidaymakers in a series of protests spreading across the country.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has branded them “crazy extremists”, calling it “madness” to attack the country’s flourishing tourism industry.
The news comes as travellers expecting to stay in rented flats in the Balearic Islands were warned their bookings were likely to be invalid following a clampdown by the authorities on illegal lettings.
Rafael Gallego, chairman of the Spanish Association of Travel Agents, yesterday branded the anti-tourism protesters “fascists”, saying he feared an escalation to violent attacks on holidaymakers.
Mr Gallego said: “This tourism phobia has been worrying us since last summer.
“In 2016 we noted graffiti and there was an attack with a glass against tourists who were on an excursion, so we warned that the situation could radicalise.
“Now there are protests in the entrances of hotels, restaurants and in ports. The danger is that tomorrow there could be an incident of real violence.
“They call themselves Left-wing, but they are more fascist than the far Right. We are very worried that they might cause a serious incident with our visitors any day.”
Radical groups claim tourism is destroying Spanish neighbourhoods by forcing up rents and driving out the young.
But Mr Gallego defended the tourism industry, saying: “It is the sector which has recovered the greatest numbers of jobs since the financial crisis.”
Last year 16.9 million Britons travelled to Spain, accounting for almost one in four visitors to the country – far more than any other nationality.
About 2.5 million Spaniards, or 13 per cent of the workforce, are employed in the tourism industry, which is worth £69billion a year.
Last month four hooded activists from a radical youth group called Arran attacked a tourist bus in Barcelona, slashing tyres and spraying slogans across it.
In Palma, Mallorca, members of the same group set off smoke flares outside a seafront restaurant, then ran inside and threw confetti over frightened diners.
This week they began a campaign against holiday car rentals, plastering 1,000 stickers on vehicles saying: “This car is unnecessary” and “Tourism kills Mallorca”.
Meanwhile, British holidaymakers in the Balearic Islands, which includes Mallorca, Ibiza, Minorca, and Formentera, are facing the nightmare of being turned away from rented holiday apartments.
The government of the islands banned the renting of flats to tourists in 2012 but the rule has not been properly enforced.
Now flat owners on the Spanish archipelago are being hit by fines of up to £36,000 if they are caught renting their properties to tourists.
A team of inspectors seek out apartment owners breaking the rules via sites like Airbnb, while an online system allows neighbours to report the practice to authorities.
Houses and villas with the correct tourism licences will not be affected.