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Spain Set for Record Tourist Numbers in 2024 after First-Half Jump

FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo
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Spain Set for Record Tourist Numbers in 2024 after First-Half Jump

FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Tourists and residents drink on a street in Gracia neighborhood during a heatwave of the summer, in Barcelona, Spain August 19, 2023. REUTERS/Bruna Casas//File Photo

The number of foreign tourists in Spain jumped 13% in the first-half of 2024, putting the country on track for another record year for visitor numbers despite growing discontent over the impact of the holiday industry in some tourist hotspots.
For the six months to the end of June, 42.5 million international visitors arrived in Spain, with the month of June alone recording a 12% rise to 9 million as the busier summer period picks up, Spain's data agency INE reported on Friday.
That means 2024 is shaping up to be another record year for Spain, already the world's second most visited country behind France, making it likely it will beat last year's high of 85 million tourists, when numbers exceeded pre-pandemic levels, said Reuters.
But for some Spaniards in the most popular destinations including Mallorca, Barcelona and the Canary Islands, there is increasing unease about the influx of tourists and their impact on housing costs and locals have staged protests.
Earlier in July, a small group of anti-tourism campaigners in Barcelona squirted water pistols at foreign visitors, chanting "tourists go home", a demonstration that created headlines around the world.
Data showed that tourists spent 12.3 billion euros in Spain in June, 17% more than the same month last year, helping drive economic growth, but highlighting the challenge for a government trying to find the right balance between tourism and local interests.
A lack of affordable housing in Spain has been partly blamed on a boom in holiday lets on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
According to the data released on Friday, tourists are increasingly opting to stay in rented apartments. The number of visitors in the first-half of the year staying in that type of accommodation was up 30%, while those staying in hotels was up 11%.

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Many US Ice Cream Producers to Phase Out Artificial Food Dyes by 2028

Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Many US Ice Cream Producers to Phase Out Artificial Food Dyes by 2028

Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
Volunteers scoop ice cream before a press conference on the steps of the United States Department of Agriculture on July 14, 2025, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

Dozens of US ice cream producers are planning to remove artificial colors from their products by 2028, a dairy industry group and government officials said on Monday.

The producers, which together represent more than 90% of ice cream sold in the US, are the latest food companies to take voluntary steps to remove dyes since Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in April said the US aimed to phase out many synthetic dyes from the country's food supply.

Several major food manufacturers, including General Mills, Kraft Heinz, J.M. Smucker, Hershey and Nestle USA, have previously announced their plans to phase out synthetic food coloring.

The 40 ice cream companies will remove Red 3, Red 40, Green 3, Blue 1, Blue 2, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6 from their retail products, excluding non-dairy products, according to the International Dairy Foods Association.

The IDFA announced the plan at an event at the US Department of Agriculture headquarters on Monday with Kennedy, FDA Commissioner Marty Makary and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins.

"We know that our current health outcomes, especially for our children, are unsustainable and that American agriculture is at the heart of the solution to make America healthy again," Rollins said at the event, referencing a slogan aligned with Kennedy.

Rollins and Kennedy have worked closely together on food sector efforts like encouraging states to ban soda from the nation's largest food aid program.

Kennedy has blamed food dyes for rising rates of ADHD and cancer, an area many scientists say requires more research.

The IDFA said artificial dyes are safe, but that ice cream makers are taking the step in part to avoid disruption to sales from state efforts to phase out dyes from school foods and West Virginia's recent food dye ban.