Camping Sites: Should the 18,000 Long Term Tourists in Spain Leave or Stay?

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If the Government decided that these types of establishments should be closed, the journey back home for the thousands of tourists who reside there should be carefully planned.

The campsites on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, currently host around 18,000 tourists who stay on a long-term basis and have been trapped by the coronavirus crisis and the declaration of the State of Alarm. At the moment, they remain confined to their plots.

In the case that the government decides to close these establishments, there should be very careful planification on how these tourists should go back home based on their average profile: the majority of them are retired and cannot just drive 1,000km in one go to get to the border.

Ana Beriain, the president of the Spanish Federation of Camping, explains that the “situation at hand is rather complicated. In the north and the centre of the Peninsula there is no problem, because most of these campsites are already closed and people have been leaving at a steady pace. Now they have decided to close them all because it’s important to control the coronavirus and also protect the campsite workers”.

“Just between the campsites in Andalucia and Murcia, we estimate there are around 8,000 to 9,000 tourists”, on the other coast between Cataluña and Valencia there could even be an additional 9,000 explains Beriain.

The logical thing would be to deallocate them bit by bit; however, the journey home is not so simple as the majority of campers are foreign and of a retired age. “These tourists typically go through France, stopping night by night in different campsites. We are talking about retired Germans, Dutch people, English people, French people etc, who cannot just drive for 1,000 kilometres without stopping anywhere. They would need to sleep at least one or two nights before reaching the border with France,” argues Ana Beriain.

The problem will arise if the government forces the immediate closure of all these establishments. In the meantime, we aim to slowly close them. For now, campers are confined to their plots and bungalows, in the same way that citizens cannot leave their homes.

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Written by

Laura Kemp

Originally from UK, Laura is based in Axarquia and is a writer for the Euro Weekly News covering news and features. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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