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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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Mystery of North Sea Message in a Bottle Solved After 47 Years

The mystery of a North Sea message in a bottle found on a Swedish island after 47 years has been resolved. Photo: Getty images
The mystery of a North Sea message in a bottle found on a Swedish island after 47 years has been resolved. Photo: Getty images
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Mystery of North Sea Message in a Bottle Solved After 47 Years

The mystery of a North Sea message in a bottle found on a Swedish island after 47 years has been resolved. Photo: Getty images
The mystery of a North Sea message in a bottle found on a Swedish island after 47 years has been resolved. Photo: Getty images

The mystery of a North Sea message in a bottle found on a Swedish island after 47 years has been solved by BBC Scotland News.

Friends Ellinor Rosen Eriksson and Asa Nilsson found the bottle on Sweden's west coast back in February.

Inside was a damp note that was almost unreadable. They laid it out in the sun to dry, and were eventually able to make out some text. The full date appeared to be: “14.9.78.”
The two friends posted about it on social media in the hope of learning more.

It has now been established the letter referred to fisherman James Addison Runcie who had been on board the fishing boat Loraley, but who died in 1995. It was written by his then crewmate Gavin Geddes - who was amazed to be told it had been found 47 years after they dropped it overboard.

Runcie's sister Sandra Taylor, 83, happened to be visiting Cullen where she is originally from, and was stunned to be told the story behind the find in Sweden.

“It's absolutely amazing,” she said.

Asked what she thought her older brother would have made of it all, she said: “He would have been in stitches, he would find it hard to believe.”

She added: “He would have poured out a dram and said 'cheers'.”

Ellinor said they were “completely amazed” to find a “real message in a bottle,” and hoped to discover the story behind it.

“Where I live, we call this activity vraga - it means going out to find something lost or hidden, and to uncover its story. And that's exactly what we've done here, with your amazing help,” she said.

The two finders in Sweden said it was “fantastic” the mystery of the source had been solved, and Jim's sister described the story unfolding as “amazing.”