While the country attracted 94 million tourists last year, with British travellers making up the biggest market by nationality, Spain is increasingly focused on balancing tourism with infrastructure, as residents in tourist hotspots blame foreign visitors for a lack of housing and rising rent costs.
Málaga, which saw more than 14m visitors in the wider province in 2024, is introducing a three-year law restricting tourist apartments in the city. Rather than an outright ban, it puts a lid on new registrations of holiday rentals in 43 districts of the Costa del Sol capital.
For holidaymakers keen to visit destinations free from restrictions, here are six alternatives to consider.
Swap Málaga for Fuengirola
Although equivalent numbers are yet to be released for Fuengirola, along the coast, the local government has claimed that visitors in January 2024 increased by more than 90 per cent compared to the same period of the year before.
Fuengirola has all the Costa del Sol charm but with fewer crowds – and rules (Photo: Alex Tihonov/Getty Images)While Málaga has a museum paying tribute to its famous former resident, Pablo Picasso, as well as a Roman theatre, Fuengirola has the Sohail Castle, which can be traced back to the Phoenician era, and the Plaza De Los Chinorros, renowned for its regional Spanish cuisine, including fresh seafood and cured meats. The old town is built around the Plaza de la Constitution and has echoes of its past as a fishing village.
It’s a 45-minute train journey from Málaga to Fuengirola, with fares from €5 (£4.20) one-way.
Last week, city councillors announced that visitors to Edinburgh will be charged a tourist tax, which will apply to accommodation including hotels and rental properties.
Aberdeen – aka the Granite City – has plenty to recommend it as an alternative to busy Edinburgh (Photo: skarau/Getty/iStockphoto)
In 2023, there were a total of 4.98 million overnight visits to Edinburgh, according to Visit Scotland. August is especially busy thanks to the city’s festival, and December can be packed too, for new year celebrations.
Known as the “Granite City” due to its striking grey stone buildings, crafted from locally quarried granite, Aberdeen is packed full of history and culture, with eye-popping street art and a thriving craft brewery.
The city is accessible by the Caledonian Sleeper train, which leaves London Euston at 8.30pm and arrives at 7.50am with fares from £53 for a basic seat.
According to Numbeo, a three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant in Edinburgh costs £10 more (£70) in Edinburgh than in Aberdeen (£60).
visitabdn.com
Swap Venice for Portugal’s canal city, Aveiro
The city is continuing to impose a €5 (£4.20) charge for visitors to its historic centre in peak times, to cut down the influx of tourists and raise revenue to aid financially disadvantaged areas, and fund services including rubbish collections.
For 2025, a new pilot system will come into force from 18 April to 27 July, and the fee will extend to Fridays as well as weekends and holiday days for a total of 54 days. Since 2021, the city has banned cruise ships from entering its historic centre.
Aveiro is often referred to as the ‘Venice of Portugal’ – and it’s easy to see why (Photo: Antonio Duarte/Getty Images/iStockphoto)Portugal’s canal city was crucial in the production of salt and for trade ajnd commercial shipping for centuries from Roman times.
The Museu de Aveiro is housed in a former convent, and features paintings, sculptures, jewellery and textiles dating back to the 14th century – it costs just €4 (£3.35) to visit.
Numbeo reveals that restaurant prices in Venice are some 40 per cent higher than in Aveiro, with a mid-range three-course meal for two costing €60 (£50.30) there compared to €42.50 (£35.50) in its Portuguese equivalent.
visitportugal.com/en/content/visit-aveiro
It has proposed the prohibition of accommodation key safes, golf carts, and rickshaws and loudspeakers for tourism purposes, with the aim of improving the day-to-day life of locals.
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Slovakian capital Bratislava doesn’t have museums as famous as the Uffizi Gallery – and is around 1,000 years younger than Florence – but it’s still has plenty of history and culture. Bratislava Castle, perched on a hill overlooking the picturesque old town, the Danube, and neighbouring Austria and Hungary.
Beyond the city are vineyards and the Little Carpathian Mountains, where you can try out a forested hiking or cycling trail before sampling a glass of Slovakian wine, including the popular Gewurztraminer. Wine is a large part of local cuisine.
A night at Florence’s four-star Hotel Leonardo da Vinci in July costs £155, whereas a stay at the comparable Hotel Saffron in Bratislava is £78 for the same date.
While Portugal’s government has welcomed 2023’s “record” number of visitors – 18.76m overnight tourists – in Lisbon, local authorities have responded to protests by announcing plans to halve the number of tourist tuk-tuks on the city’s streets, after residents complained they were blocking traffic.
Durrës has many similarites to Lisbon – not least its waterside views (Photo: MireXa/Getty)A three-course meal for two at a mid-range restaurant is €30.48 (£25.50) in Durrës, and €55 (£46) in Lisbon, according to Numbeo.
As well as its many beaches, it’s home to a vast Roman amphitheatre, and its Archaeological Museum displays pieces from the Greek, Hellenistic and Roman periods, and costs just 400 Albanian Lek (£3.35) to enter. Popular Durrësi Beach is well-known for its family-friendly shallow waters.
albania.al/destinations/durres
Swap Marseille for Toulon
In 2023, Statista figures show there were 16.2 million overnight stays in the city and, while there are no specific figures for Toulon as yet, the French tourism sector reported a strong recovery that year after pandemic declines, which is likely to apply to Toulon.
Toulon is just along the coast from Marseille, but puts fewer restrictions on tourists (Photo: Pascal Merenco/500px/Getty)Popular beaches Plage de Pipady and Plage de la Mitre feature vast expanses of sand and are surrounding, in typical French Riveira style, with palm trees.
Just 40 miles east of Marseille, a three-course meal for two at an average restaurant costs €57.50 (£48) in Toulon and €62.50 (£52.50) in Marseille.
provencemed.com
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