Eight days in Spain

I just returned from eight days in Spain with my family, four in Barcelona and four in Mallorca, and I came home with a lot more than a tan and a camera full of memories. I came home with a renewed perspective on how media shapes our perception, how policy impacts communities, and how travel, at its best, opens our eyes far wider than the lens of a camera ever could.

Before we left, plenty of people told me Spain was not safe. Pickpockets, they warned. Tourists are targeted, they said. I have travelled enough to know how to watch my stuff, and we were prepared. Our passports were locked in the hotel safe, we carried almost no cash, and our valuables stayed in fanny packs tucked under our clothes. I stayed vigilant. Yet, despite all the warnings, I saw nothing. Not one suspicious move, not one attempted theft. What I did see was a country full of kind, welcoming and joyful people.

Another fear I carried was that Spaniards do not want tourists anymore. Headlines and social media chatter have suggested hostility toward travellers. I braced for rudeness, for cold shoulders. Instead, what I found was the opposite. Not once did I encounter a rude person. In fact, one of our best moments came in a seaside restaurant in Mallorca, where after a few beers we found ourselves sharing stories with the owner.

Naturally, I asked him about the negative press surrounding tourists in Spain. His answer was fascinating. The problem, he said, is not with the tourists themselves. It is with the government’s handling of short term rentals. He explained that when entire neighbourhoods are converted into vacation rentals, locals get squeezed out. Housing disappears, and prices for what is left soar. Property owners make far more renting to visitors by the night than to residents by the month. That frustration, he told me, gets painted as anger at tourists but the real culprit is policy, not people.

That struck a chord, because it is not just a Spanish issue. We have faced the same challenge here in the Crowsnest Pass. The good news is our council was proactive. In 2023, our community had 4,011 dwelling units, with just 42 registered as tourist homes. That is roughly one percent. When you add in hotels, motels, B and Bs and other accommodations, the total still only sits at two percent of housing. That is balance. By taking action early, we protected our housing stock from being swallowed by the short term rental market, a decision that looks increasingly wise as other places now scramble to catch up. We are in a rental and housing crisis as it is in the Pass, imagine if council had not got a handle on short term rentals early.

The restaurant owner also had a theory about where much of the negativity toward Spain was coming from. He pointed a finger at the BBC, accusing it of deliberately painting Spain in a bad light as a way to lure tourists back to the UK. Whether you agree or not, his comments made me reflect on the enormous power media holds in shaping perception. If all you have heard is that Spain is dangerous and unwelcoming, you might never book the ticket. And if you never go, you never get to see the truth for yourself.

The truth I found was a country that welcomed us with open arms. A country of laughter, music, long dinners and late nights. A place where family moments felt richer because I know how rare they are becoming as my sons grow older. I soaked it all in, the sun, the sea, the culture, and the simple joy of being together.

Now, back home, I cannot help but draw the connection between Spain’s challenges and our own. Housing affordability, the impact of global media narratives, the balance between tourism and community, these are not problems unique to Europe. They are ours too. And like Spain, our solutions will only come from thoughtful policy, not knee jerk headlines.

At the end of this month, I am off to New Orleans to speak about my lawsuit against Google. That will be another airport, another hotel, another whirlwind. But for a moment in Spain, life slowed down. I was reminded of why travel matters, not for the postcards or the Instagram shots, but for the way it challenges what we think we know. I would not have my life any other way.