Budget airline Wizz Air has announced five new flights to several popular Spanish holiday destinations. Many have welcomed the announcement, but some are concerned about the overtourism aspect. Five new routes from London will take holidaymakers to five sought after destinations, with fares starting from just £17.99 one way.
It comes as anti-tourist protests continue to take hold of some busy cities, with short-term holiday lets via Airbnb and VRBO coming under fire in recent years as locals object to loss of residential housing. Wizz Air has announced new budget flights to Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao and Seville all departing from Luton Airport. Both Barcelona and Madrid are two of the cities that have seen a huge turn out of locals protesting about the effects of overtourism.
Travellers on a budget will welcome the news of five new routes to Spain from London, but Jaroslaw Grabczak, head of commercial product at Thomas Cook and eSky Group online travel agency has raised concerns.
He told the Metro newspaper that this is likely to contribute to pressure on local housing, infrastructure and the ‘social fabric of communities’.
Mr Grabczak told the Metro: “The rapid growth of air travel, particularly driven by low-cost carriers like Wizz Air and Ryanair, funnels huge volumes of visitors into already saturated destinations.”
The new flight paths to these five Spanish destinations will begin next year in March 2026 – and many low cost options will be available to travellers from Luton Airport.
But adding extra tourists to busy spots such as Barcelona has been questioned by a PR director who works with the Spanish Tourism Board.
Marta Moya told the Metro that ‘every player’ in the travel and tourism industry should be considering the effects and ‘doing their bit’.
She spoke of a ‘preference’ for airlines to ‘focus on launching new routes to lesser-known Spanish destinations’ when speaking to the Metro.
Marta also said that travelling during off-peak periods – and avoiding July and August for example – should also be encouraged.
Of course many tourists already know that travelling out of peak season offers a truer glimpse into the authenticity of a holiday destination, as that destination is also always a place where locals reside too.
Overtourism has been reported on recently and as well as short term holiday lets being blamed, cruise liner drop offs and airlines have also come under fire for adding to the crowding in certain popular holiday places.
The need for new collaboration between airlines, online travel agencies and local governments has been highlighted as a good way forward to help benefit local communities.
A Wizz Air spokesperson told the Metro that it wants to open up accessible travel to ‘everyone’.
And that keeping fares low and ‘opening up opportunities to discover new places and enjoy local cultures’ was part of that aim.
The Wizz Air spokesperson told the Metro: “By offering direct connections to multiple cities beyond tourist hotspots, we not only provide passengers with the choice and flexibility when planning their trips, but also boost local economies through increased demand for services, creating jobs and supporting local businesses.”
The airline also insisted that it encourages its customers to travel when it’s less busy and during off-peak holiday times as well as suggesting lesser-known destinations to customers as an option.