Spanish hotels worried that Brits will be tempted by cheap breaks in Turkey and Tunisia this summer
Spanish hot spots warned to draw up battle plans as tourism chiefs warn that Brits won't stay loyal when offered €400 holidays to Tunisia
SPANISH holiday hot spots are being warned to draw up battle plans to prevent millions of Brits being tempted by bargain breaks in Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey this summer.
Tourism chiefs say they have "no hope" of competing on price as a one-week all inclusive holidays at five-star hotels in Turkey are being offered at just €400.
They also warn that Spain can't rely on the loyalty of holidaymakers who been shunning the Arab countries in recent years because of safety fears.
The holidaymakers who are now being tempted back to those countries are being dubbed "the borrowed tourists."
They have spent up to six years holidaying in Spain, bringing boom times and record numbers for the country.
In 2017, Spain had a record-breaking 82 million tourists, up 8.9 per cent on 2016 and making it the second most visited destination after France, leap-frogging even the United States.
But now, Spanish favourites like the Costa del Sol, Balearics and Canaries are being urged to provide something extra and different for their holidaymakers or lose them once and for all.
They are being told that tourists, including the Brits, will go for the cheaper options, and Spain could lose up to 18 million tourists.
On the Costa del Sol, hotel leaders say the war may be won by providing better quality and new kinds of attractions.
Luis Callejón is president of Aehcos - the association of hotels, says new British holidays to Tunisia in 2018 is one of the biggest threats to Spanish tourism.
The group is worried that if tourists are to be won over by quality rather than price, there are parts of Spain, such as Malaga, which won't be able to compete.
Bodrum in Turkey is currently offering during the summer holidays.
Last summer, the Costa del Sol exceeded seven million visitors for the first time ever, of which 1.4 million were Brits.
But tourism chiefs in Mallorca and Ibiza are worried that Tunisia, Egypt and Turkey will take away visitors and some hoteliers are already going back to all-inclusive offers.
The Balearics were trying to move away from all inclusives because of their link to "uncivic tourism" through unlimited drink offers.
But with a number of travel agents dropping the islands from their brochures, the hoteliers are having a rethink and believe this could be the only way to remain competitive.
The Canary Islands have already identified the potential threat and hotels in Tenerife have been refurbishing and upgrading their facilities to luxury standard, as well as opening up new routes from all over the world.
However, some in Spain might be happy with the news.
Angry locals in several parts of the country staged anti-tourism protests last summer.
In August, protesters of stormed a beach in Barcelona to "reclaim" it from tourists - as visitors napped nearby.
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Crowds surged on to the sand to highlight their upset over party-seeking foreigners driving up rent and house prices, while bringing a spike in rowdy behaviour.
In September, thousands of people took to the streets in Majorca to protest against mass tourism, chanting "without limits there is no future" and "tourists go home" in the Spanish island's capital, Palma.
Just a week later, thugs pelted six coaches with eggs near Palma airport, putting the lives of the drivers, holidaymakers and other road users at risk.