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INSIDE SPAIN

Inside Spain: broken bureaucracy promises and avoiding your countrymen on holiday

In this week’s Inside Spain we see why the prior appointment (cita previa) system for official matters is still in place after authorities promised to scrap it, and the places to avoid if you don’t want to bump into your countrymen while on holiday here.

Published: 17 August 2024 10:51 CEST
Inside Spain: broken bureaucracy promises and avoiding your countrymen on holiday
Palma de Mallorca is the favourite destination of Germany holidaymakers in Spain during August.(Photo by JAIME REINA / AFP)

Bureaucracy is arguably the worst thing about life in Spain: the convoluted language, the painstaking processes, the lack of accountability of civil servants and of course the dreaded cita previa. 

Last January, the government promised to get rid of this gatekeeping system used by funcionarios (civil servants) to prevent people from going to public administration buildings to carry out official processes or to ask questions without first having a mandatory ‘prior appointment’.

The cita previa system has been around for ages and applied haphazardly depending on the preferences of the specific branch, but it was during the Covid-19 pandemic that it became compulsory across all public administrations and it’s been kept in place ever since without any justification.

It’s now seven months since Spanish Minister of Digital Transformation and Public Function José Luis Escrivá said he’d scrap the compulsory cita previa system, but much to the frustration of many foreigners and Spaniards, it’s still around.

Numerous law firms have called out the fact that compulsory appointments are “illegal” and authorities have admitted that they should be offering a simpler, more inclusive and friendlier public service. 

On April 26th, the government presented the proposal to axe the cita previa at Congress and since then nothing new is known, with the bill most likely lost in the usual administrative limbo.

Yes, the irony is not lost on us that legislation meant to simplify bureaucracy is being held up by bureaucracy itself.

Government sources have defended the delay by arguing that they have until 2025 for the law to be processed before its deadline, “so there’s time”.  

Now it’s August, the holiday month in Spain, so don’t expect anything important to get done “as soon as possible” as Escrivá said initially. 

Even if legislation banning mandatory appointments does eventually get passed, there is a high chance that what’s promised in theory is very different to what happens in practice, showcased by the recent failures of the spam calls law and the housing law. 

Spain’s General Law Council Association denounced in April the impossibility of obtaining appointments at Spain’s Immigration Office for residency and asylum procedures, a system that’s been taken over by bots run by criminal groups that then sell the appointments to desperate foreigners.

Extranjería is also notoriously short-staffed, so being overrun by people without an appointment every day may not be part of their plans. 

In other news, data published by Spain’s INE stats body has revealed where different nationalities like to spend their summer holidays in Spain. 

Last August, French tourists represented the biggest group of foreign holidaymakers with almost 2.3 million visitors, followed by 2.1 million Brits, 1.25 million Germans and about 700,000 Dutch and 650,000 Italians. 

If you’re a UK national looking to not hear English on your Spanish holidays, then it’s best to avoid Barcelona, Calvià on Mallorca and the south of Tenerife, as that’s where most British holidaymakers in Spain are at this time of year. 

In fact, Brits, Germans and Dutch have a big presence anywhere coastal in Spain in August, so if you want a truer Spanish experience it’s best to head inland.

The city where you’re most likely to find German tourists in August is Palma de Mallorca, but they love the island as a whole. The map in the tweet below shows the flow of Mallorca-bound flights from Germany and the UK on a summer’s morning.

As for the Dutch, there’s an even spread across Palma, Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia in August.

The French also love Barcelona, and their country’s proximity to the Costa Brava and the Basque Country means many of them end up holidaying there. However, French people are the foreign holidaymakers that are most likely to be found off the beaten track in Spain. 

Italians are avid fans of the Canaries, the Balearics and coastal areas, but surprisingly you’re also likely to find a lot of Italian tourists in inland locations such as Extremadura near Portugal, Seville, Madrid and Zaragoza. However, their number one destination is Barcelona.

There’s nothing wrong with encountering your fellow nationals while on holiday (some people might prefer it) but the truth is that if you want a quieter holiday experience overall, August is a month that’s best avoided, as Spain is packed to the brim.

Member comments

  1. Thank you for the article. The CITA information is important. As a Resident, I find the CITA a hit and miss. The problem is that the CITA system is not very well thought out. Yet, in some offices we did not need a CITA. However, the Extranjería can be complicated.

    I am happy to read that Americans do not register as a large portion of tourists.

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INSIDE SPAIN

Inside Spain: New tourist taxes and the problem of depopulation

In this week's Inside Spain we look at the situation of tourist taxes and the problem of depopulation in the country.

Published: 14 September 2024 10:54 CEST
Inside Spain: New tourist taxes and the problem of depopulation

So-called overtourism has caused a lot of anger in Spain this year with protests in the Balearic Islands, Canaries, Barcelona and Málaga. While there have been many ideas to try and curb the amount of visitors to the country and benefit more from the ever-increasing  numbers, one of the least popular has been the introduction of tourist taxes. 

Currently, tourist taxes have only been introduced in Spain in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands. They were also introduced and then scrapped in the Valencia Community. 

Last week Asturias’ left-wing regional government, formed by the PSOE and IU, announced that it intends to impose a tourist tax on visitors too.

Asturias received a record 2.7 million visitors in 2023 and experts believe it will be even higher in 2024.

It aims to offset the increased costs of running public services in places with more visitors, but crucially it will be up to each individual town hall in Asturias to decide whether to charge tourists the tax or not.

Popular towns in Asturias such as Cudillero, Cangas de Onís and Valdés have already shown interest in introducing the tax, although authorities in the region’s two main cities, Oviedo and Gijón, are against it.

There will also be an increase in tourist taxes in Barcelona. Currently, tourists to the Catalan capital pay two types of taxes – one to the region and one to the city. 

City tax, which is charged for up to seven nights stands at €3.25 per night, but from October 2024, this will go up to €4 per night, which is an increase of €0.75. They will pay this municipal tourist tax regardless of whether they stay in a bed and breakfast, on a cruise ship or in five-star hotel.

On top of this visitors will also have to pay tax on stays in tourist establishments of the Generalitat. This ranges from €1 per person per night for stays in hotels with less than four stars and up to €3.50 per night for 5-star establishments.

This means that from this autumn, tourists to Barcelona will end up pay between €5 and €7.50 per night.

There has been so much talk of overtourism in Spain lately that many forget the other side of the story – the parts of the country that are empty. 

Recently, one of the most underpopulated regions in Spain, Extremadura, made headlines when it said it would pay digital nomads to move there, helping to increase the population and jump-start local economies. 

The rural depopulation of Spain’s ‘interior’ has long been a socioeconomic and demographic problem

According to Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE), approximately 22 million Spaniards live in the 100 most populated municipalities in Spain. This means that around half of the total Spanish population is concentrated in four percent of the national territory.

Over the last decade, 6,232 municipalities have seen their population decline. This equals three out of every four municipal areas.

Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León, Extremadura and Aragón are the parts of Spain where this depopulation is felt the most. Here, many people move away from the countryside and smaller towns in search of employment, better paid jobs and where they can find more opportunities. 

Depopulation affects everything from the lack of banking and healthcare services to local economies and the social fabric of these rural societies. 

In another news story that caught our eye, the Balearic Island of Formentera will be hosting what it calls “the only Zero Wastefestival in the world” from October 4th to 6th. 

While other festivals also claim to sustainable, the SON Estrella Galicia Posidonia event was recently awarded TRUE Zero Waste Platinum certification. Working with local partners, it is open to only 350 people and offers its guests a chance to discover the island through activities and guided walks – committed to a zero waste policy with a focus on reduction and reuse.

The event offers a programme of musical performances, a tasting menu curated by a Michelin Star chef and activities across different parts of the island, which will remain secret until October 4th. Tickets can be bought here.

The festival aims to raise awareness of the protection of Posidonia meadows around the island.

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