Popular Spanish hotspot has become empty as Brits abandon once ‘crowded’ destination

A well-loved Spanish city that used to be full of tourists is now said to be “dead”, as many Brits appear to have chosen other places for their holidays.

It’s not the first time people have claimed Spain has been unusually quiet this year.

Videos shared online show the area with streets that look completely empty.

Laura, known as lauratravelvlogs on TikTok, has been showing how different Barcelona feels this year.

She has lived there for over two years and says she has noticed a huge drop in visitor numbers.

For months, she has posted clips of empty streets, silent roads and beaches with hardly anyone on them, all to show how much tourism seems to have changed.

In a recent video showing very quiet roads, Laura wrote: “Sorry, no one can argue that these roads leading up to the beach were not packed in 2023?”

When talking about how empty Spain has become, many viewers agreed with her and shared similar thoughts.

Laura added that there are still some tourists “for now” in the main spots, but she said spending is at an “all time low”. She says the change over the last two years has been huge, and she is shocked by how empty the city now feels.

In another video, Laura showed how the city centre was almost deserted during the summer because “tourists don’t feel welcome”. She believes the recent protests in Spain may have scared visitors away completely.

Hundreds of people have commented since the video was posted, with many eager to share their opinions. Their comments have been very mixed.

One person wrote: “One by one businesses from all sectors will start to close – that’s the sad thing.” Another added: “There’s already a lot of smaller towns that have fallen into despair.

“So many people have lost their jobs due to the drop in tourism. It’s madness – they’ll be begging people to go back in a few years.”

A third said: “Tourism in Spain is 40% down. The south coast of Spain was eerily quiet last week.” Meanwhile, a fourth wrote: “Spain is old news – there are far nicer countries to spend your money in.”

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