Spain leads the way on top cities to visit in Europe

The famous American travel magazine Travel + Leisure has now published the 2024 edition of its "World's Best Awards," crowning the best in travel

By AFPRelaxnews

Published: Jul 17, 2024 04:49:39 PM IST

Updated: Jul 17, 2024 04:59:19 PM IST

In Spain, anger is growing against tourism. Image: Joan Valls/Urbanandsport /NurPhoto via Getty Images

As anger mounts in Spain over the effects of overtourism, the country is still Europe's must-visit destination, according to readers of the renowned travel magazine Travel+Leisure, scoring six entries in its list of top 15 European cities to visit in 2024.

At a time when many local authorities are introducing a variety of measures to limit the effects of overtourism, is it time to put an end to travel rankings that raise the profile of certain destinations? The question is worth asking, especially as social networks have become a new source of travel inspiration for any people. But, for as long as these multiple rankings are actually followed by vacationers, it's worth considering their potential repercussions.

The famous American travel magazine, Travel + Leisure, has now published the 2024 edition of its "World's Best Awards," crowning the best in travel. For almost 30 years (this is the 29th edition), the publication has relied on its readers to draw up its numerous awards lists of reader favorites (there are 125 of them!). In 2024, some 186,000 readers took part in this poll, casting more than 700,000 votes for more than 8,700 properties, airlines, airports, hotels, cities and more, establishing Travel+Leisure as a true travel trendsetter.

This year, in the category of must-see European cities for 2024, which includes 15 winners, Spain counts six entries. These are San Sebastián, Marbella, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville and Granada, respectively. By comparison, Italy and Portugal each have just three representatives in the list. As such, American readers have chosen the mainstays of Spanish tourism, without highlighting regions further off the beaten track.

And therein lies the problem. While a Deloitte/Google study estimates that Spain will become the world's leading tourist destination by 2040, relegating France to second place, discontent is growing among residents who feel overwhelmed by tourism. In Barcelona, residents are complaining of soaring property prices, driven by short-term accommodation rentals. Recently, the mayor of the Catalan capital announced plans to put an end to permits for this type of accommodation by 2028. San Sebastián, which has banned tour groups of more than 25 people, as well as the creation of new hotels and seasonal furnished accommodation, was also rocked by protests in May. The Canary Islands, which do not feature in this ranking (probably due to being less visited by US travelers than by German and British vacationers), launched the movement in April, calling for a limit on the number of tourists visiting the islands. Inhabitants of the archipelago, located in the Atlantic Ocean, west of Morocco, are complaining about high prices and difficulties in implementing environmentally-friendly measures.

Also read: Europe's top 5 beaches to explore in 2024

In 2023, Spain welcomed 85.1 million foreign visitors, mainly from the UK, France and Germany.