AN all-time high of 94 million travellers have visited Spain in 2024, but with a growth of around 5.7% in the first quarter of this year, the country is expected to reach the 100 million tourist-mark this year.
With the uncontrollable growth of tourism on the Iberian peninsula, prices are also growing out of control.
Spanish newspaper El Pais has published an article in which online travel agency Destinia compared the rates charged by hotels in eight different locations in Spain.
They used the same metrics for every hotel, and found that prices are almost the same if you were to travel to Riviera Maya in Mexico, or Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.
A four-star resort in the Caribbean costs the same as in Spain
This price equalisation is partly caused by airline tickets getting more expensive, since EU regulations require planes to use 2% sustainable fuel since January this year.
Airlines have calculated that this incentive to meet the energy transition objectives will mean an extra cost of €235 million, most of which will have to be paid by the traveller of course.
This is part of why destinations that are only ~2,000km away, will see their prices equal to destinations ~8,000km away.
Another explanation for the rise in prices is the demand-factor.
Certain destinations are gaining in popularity, which allows them to impose historically high rates.
“Many travellers are delaying the decision to book or shortening stays to control spending, as we saw in the summer of 2023,” said Ricardo Fernandez, CEO of Destinia.
HARROWING new revelations have emerged about the final hours of British teenager Jay Slater, who died in Tenerife last June.
Witnesses told the podcast Jay Slater The Investigation that the 19-year-old armed himself with kitchen knives after allegedly stealing ketamine from a convicted drug dealer.
The bombshell allegations come from celebrity detective Mark Williams-Thomas, who has spent months investigating the case and managed to track down key witnesses that Spanish police failed to locate for the coroner’s inquest.
The Daily Mail reports that Williams-Thomas’s investigation, which will be released as a two-part podcast this week, found Jay had left an Airbnb in the remote village of Masca carrying two kitchen knives in his waistband after taking a bag of ketamine belonging to Ayub Qassim.
A massive manhunt took place last year after British teenager Jay Slater disappeared in Tenerife
The 31-year-old, who is a convicted drug dealer, was the last person to see the apprentice bricklayer alive.
The shocking claims were made by Qassim himself, who told Williams-Thomas that Jay had ‘walked away because he’s f***ed off with the ket and he went missing’ after taking his ketamine supply.
For the first time since the tragedy, Jay’s friend Lucy Law has also spoken out about their final phone conversation, revealing that Jay told her he was ‘on a mission’ and couldn’t return to his accommodation because he had ‘taken two kitchen knives down his pants in case anything kicks off.’
Law, who had been holidaying with Jay in Tenerife, failed to attend last month’s inquest after police were unable to trace her.
Her parents later told reporters they were unaware she was required to give evidence until officers arrived at their home on the day of the hearing looking for her.
The Lancashire teenager had been on the Spanish island attending the NRG music festival when he vanished on June 17, sparking one of the biggest manhunts in Tenerife’s history.
His body was eventually found a month later at the bottom of a remote ravine with severe head injuries.
Williams-Thomas’s investigation suggests Jay, who was heavily under the influence of drugs and alcohol, fled the Airbnb in fear of repercussions after stealing the ketamine.
The detective believes this explains why Jay armed himself with knives and told Lucy he couldn’t return to where he was staying.
Qassim, who served nine years in prison after being convicted in 2015 for his role in flooding Cardiff’s streets with Class A drugs, had been expected to give evidence at Jay’s inquest last month but could not be traced by authorities.
The coroner expressed exasperation that police had been unable to locate key witnesses, leading to the inquest being adjourned.
Williams-Thomas has now shared his findings with Spanish police and Jay’s mother Debbie Duncan, who he describes as ‘heartbroken’ by the revelations.
During the investigation, Williams-Thomas uncovered that Jay had been using a cocktail of drugs that left him behaving erratically on the night he disappeared.
Traces of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine were later found in his body during the post-mortem examination.
The detective also revealed that Jay had sent messages claiming he had stolen an expensive watch and was trying to sell it for £10,000, telling a friend: “Yes cuz ended up getting thrown out of there me with 2 Mali kids just took an AP off some xxxx on way to sell it for 10 quid.”
Graincy CCTV footage of Slater hours before he disappeared
Jay’s final hours began after he accompanied Qassim and another man back to their Airbnb following the music festival.
He later attempted to walk back to his hotel in Playa de las Americas, a journey that would have taken 10 hours through treacherous mountain terrain under the scorching sun.
His last phone calls were to Lucy Law and friend Bradley Hargreaves, during which he said he was lost, his phone was dying, and he was walking across rough, stony ground.
Williams-Thomas concluded that Jay’s death was ‘a tragic accident with no third party involvement,’ but believes the new evidence provides crucial context about why the teenager left the Airbnb so suddenly and why he felt the need to arm himself.
Jay’s mother Debbie had initially asked Williams-Thomas not to release the information about the ketamine theft, concerned it would bring further shame on the family.
However, the detective decided to make the findings public ahead of the rescheduled inquest to ensure they are properly investigated.
Qassim has since responded on social media, appearing to criticise Williams-Thomas and suggesting people were ‘profiting from their grief.’
He has indicated he will attend the next inquest hearing.
The case attracted massive attention on social media, with numerous conspiracy theories circulating on platforms like TikTok, which Jay’s mother had previously slammed as distressing and outlandish.
The inquest is expected to resume at a later date, with authorities hoping the new witness testimony will finally provide answers about the tragic circumstances surrounding the teenager’s death on the Spanish island.
She immediately criticised his behaviour, but the abuse continued. He said no one would believe her if she reported him, because she was ‘black’ and an ‘illegal immigrant’ whereas he was a Spanish citizen.
On day ten of her employment, he demanded she strip and dance for him at a Fuengirola hotel, threatening to leave her without pay if she did not obey. He then raped her.
Back in Madrid, she was able to grab her cellphone, which the defendant hid under his pillow, lock herself in the bathroom and call the police for help.
The police had previously received calls relating to similar incidents occurring to another foreign woman working at the home as a live-in domestic worker.
The man was also ordered to pay the victim €8,250 in compensation for moral damages and minor injuries sustained in the struggle. The ruling cannot be appealed.
MIJAS Town Hall has approved plans for a major donkey sanctuary spanning over 10,000 square metres as part of a €15.1 million infrastructure spending package.
The council has allocated €80,000 for the design of the recreational park, which will house the town’s famous donkeys in more spacious stables with dedicated recreational areas.
The facility will allow public visits while the animals roam in semi-free conditions.
The project aims to establish Mijas as a breeding centre and will be fully integrated into the landscape, designed to improve the animals’ quality of life whilst maintaining their role as a tourist attraction.
The sanctuary plan comes amid ongoing controversy over Mijas’s donkey taxis, which have faced years of criticism from animal welfare activists.
Last summer, several donkeys were reported to have collapsed due to heat exhaustion, leading to renewed calls to end the practice and new rules limiting operating times during weather warnings.
The donkey taxis have been particularly controversial for forcing the animals to work in extreme summer temperatures whilst carrying tourists around the hilltop town.
The donkey sanctuary forms part of a broader €15.1 million budget modification approved by the council, with €5.87 million specifically designated for infrastructure projects.
The spending package was approved despite opposition from the Socialist PSOE and Ciudadanos parties.
Housing features prominently in the investment plan, with €150,000 allocated for designing 40 public housing units on the El Maro site covering 5,731 square metres.
The development represents the largest public housing project in the municipality for two decades.
The council is also addressing parking shortages with plans for underground car parks in La Vega (€150,000), Las Cañadas (€150,000), and La Cala boulevard (€200,000), plus surface parking near the hippodrome (€33,000).
Nearly 30 street renovation projects are planned across the municipality, including comprehensive upgrades to roads such as Ciprés, Pablo Ruiz Picasso, Cártama, and Segovia.
Major infrastructure improvements include widening the A-7053 between Venta La Morena and the Mijas Golf roundabout.
Sports facilities will receive €150,000 for repairing the La Cala sports pavilion roof, with additional funds for football facility improvements in Las Lagunas and Osunillas.
The Las Lagunas pensioners’ centre will also receive €80,000 for upgrades.