Gib blames border queues for crash in tourist spending

THE amount of expenditure from Gibraltar’s tourism has dropped sharply since 2011, with earnings down more than a £100 million between 2011 and 2014, according to the government’s 2014 Tourist Survey Report.
The combination of long delays at the border crossing between Spain and Gibraltar, a weak performing euro against the pound, and lower petrol prices, are the main factors that the government believes have contributed to the drop.
Queues at the border checkpoint on Thursday July 27 were reported to be up to an hour long, as Spanish security said they were checking new electronic passport gates. But the Gibraltar government has taken that excuse at face value, and reporting the incident to the EU.
“The effects of these [tests] seem to be designed to cause as much disruption as possible,” said Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia.