An expat in Spain has claimed that Brits are far from hated in his new country.

Spain currently is the second most visited country in the world by tourists and predictions are that by 2040, it will overtake France and be the number one tourist destination. As a result, the country is very reliant on tourism, with 13 per cent of GDP made up by tourism in 2024, and that figure being expected to continue to rise.

In recent years, this has become a bigger and bigger issue among many people living in Spain, who have hit the streets to protest against high house prices and low wages that they argue are being worsened by the impacts of tourtism. Campaingers in and the Balearic Islands have been at the forefront of the push for greater control over mass tourism.

According to Sean Woolley, CEO of estate agency Cloud Nine Spain, it is a different story on the Costa del Sol. The Brit - whose job it is to convinced people to move to Spain so may have an incentive for saying so - argues that those on the stretch of coast are very welcoming to tourists.

"Spain definitely does not hate tourists, and the anti-tourism protests in Spain are more about control, imposing limits and ensuring there are enough properties available to locals. There have already been changes in this direction, with the Junta de Andalucia requiring better regulation and the deeming holiday rentals as businesses, therefore in some cases not allowed within communities or developments," Sean said.

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"Barcelona is planning to ban altogether from 2028, although whether that is really possible is in doubt, with over 10,000 Airbnbs currently in the city. From a governmental and regulation point of view, (the protesters) are predominantly concerned about the unregistered tourism rentals. This is something which has been better regulated for some time."

Sean claims that the situation when it comes to holiday lets - and the impact they have on locals' rents - varies from location to location.

"The Junta de Andalucia has a scheme where if you want to rent your property on a short-term basis, you have to have a licence, pay taxes, and abide by the rules. This is there to improve the quality of and of course collect tax revenues, which weren’t previously being declared," he said.

"Barcelona is the perfect example of a city which has probably gone too far. There are too many properties that are now registered for tourism, and there's nowhere for the locals to go and buy."

The 150,000 protesters who hit the streets of Madrid - under the slogan "housing is a right, not a business" - last month calling for a crackdown on Airbnb probably disagree. They called for lower rents and better living conditions. In July, the Spanish government announced a crackdown on short-term and seasonal holiday lettings. It plans to investigate listings on platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com to verify if they have rental licences.

In , (which includes the Costa del Sol) a Supreme Court ruling a few years ago allowed communities to decide for themselves whether to allow tourist rentals or not.

Sean finds himself firmly in the pro-tourism camp. "The Spanish want tourism. We need tourism as a nation in Spain, but it's about just controlling some of the elements and restricting the type of tourist," he said.

He also backs moves made in Andalucia to limit the impact of holiday rentals. "When they say the minimum length of stay is seven nights, this discourages disruptive tourists such as hens and stags and lads’ weekends, which can cause problems. By introducing a seven-day minimum stay, they hope to encourage more respectful guests. This is happening with a lot of the developments in Puerto Banus and the Golden Mile on the Costa del Sol," Sean said.

"Lastly, we expect to see more communities deciding what percentage of holiday lets they would want in that to ensure the balance remains in favour of residents and homes for private use."

He concluded: "It's important to know that I've not seen any anti-tourist behaviour and I don't know anyone that's seen it on the This area is very much pro-tourism. Everyone seems to be living harmoniously at the moment, and it's all good."