Benidorm is one of the biggest winners in Spain of the drop in British holidaymakers choosing Magaluf following the party resort «clean-up», local bar and nightclub chiefs say
A Spanish holiday resort once beloved by Brits is seeing its popularity falter amid efforts to tidy up its image.
According to Miguel Perez-Marsa, head of the ABONE nightclub association on Majorca, young Brits are shunning Magaluf. The area used to be overrun by UK tourists during the summer but now attracts a more diverse European crowd. Miguel argued that Brits feel «demonized.»
French and Italian visitors, who tend to drink less and spend less on nights out, are filling the void left by British revellers. At the same time, British youths, once the mainstay of Magaluf’s raucous Punta Ballena strip, have been «steam-rollered» and are now heading to Benidorm and other «more-welcoming» resorts, Miguel said.
While more British families are visiting Magaluf, they’re choosing all-inclusive deals, which means they’re spending less money outside their hotels, Miguel told Diario de Mallorca.
READ MORE: Brits in Spain horrified at booze price hikes putting resorts beyond budget for summer hols
The reputation of Magaluf took a hit following the release of a scandalous sex video in June 2014, involving a British tourist in a bar, which resulted in a year-long closure of the establishment and a concerted effort by local authorities to clean up the resort’s image.
Magaluf’s infamous party strip has been under the spotlight since Majorca’s leading politician at the time, Jose Ramon Bauza, slammed Punta Ballena as «500 metres of shame». This came after an 18-year-old girl was tricked into performing sex acts for a supposed free holiday, only to receive a cocktail named ‘Holiday’.
Fines reaching up to £50,000 were introduced for tourists caught balcony jumping, and alcohol service with meals at all-inclusive hotels in areas like Magaluf was restricted under a regional government decree targeting ‘drunken tourism’, introduced five years ago.
Last year saw even stricter measures, including £1,300 penalties for street drinking and mandatory night-time shutdowns of alcohol-selling shops in parts of Magaluf.
In May 2024 the Mirror’s Hollie Bone visited Magaluf and was shocked by the levels of debauchery on display, despite these efforts.
«In just one night our reporter was offered cocaine five times and witnessed a stag party buying a huge can of nitrous oxide, known as hippy crack, before using it openly in a bar. And previous visitors have urged those going this year to be careful as thuggish bouncers, incidents of spiking and theft still plague the party town,» she wrote.
«During our week in Magaluf we witnessed several blatant breaches of the new laws. We saw members of the stag party buy two one litre bottles of vodka and gin after making an after-hours deal with a takeaway owner at 3am. The same group also bought the nitrous oxide and inhaled balloons of the gas in front of nonchalant bar workers.
«Revellers are still enticed into bars by the offers of a free shot with their first drink. For some young Britons a summer season here is still as attractive and exciting as it was eight years ago. One barman from Tottenham, North London, told us he came here in 2016 and has never looked back.»
During a visit in May last year, Britain’s then-Ambassador to Spain, Hugh Elliott, called on visitors in the Majorcan hotspot to «show responsibility» and remember they are «guests» in Spain. British holidaymakers form the majority of Benidorm’s international visitors.
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Recent statistics revealed that over two-thirds of the Costa Blanca resort’s tourists in May were from overseas, with an encouraging average hotel occupancy rate of 84.7% for the month.
This Sunday an anti-mass tourism demonstrators are gearing up for another rally in the Majorcan capital, Palma. The event is orchestrated by activist group Menys Turisme, Mes Vida, with a coalition of 60 organisations confirming their participation.
Activists from other cities such as Barcelona and San Sebastian are set to join in a series of synchronised protests. A spokesperson for Menys Turisme, Mes Vida declared last week: «We will demonstrate for the right to a decent life and to demand the brakes are put on the touristification of this island.»
