By Adam Woodward • Updated: 27 Aug 2024 • 20:00 • 1 minute read
Beware of fake news about Spain. Credit: photoschmidt - Shutterstock
Scaremongering in the UK press, warning Brits about travelling to Spain this year, has been rife. From a so-called ‘anti-British sentiment’ against (specifically) British tourists, or more recently against a Monkey Pox (MPox) outbreak, have been continuous from both the tabloid press and so-called broadsheets.
It is time to address this, beginning with the latter. On Sunday, August 25, the British press were reporting that Spain is on ‘High Alert’ against a ‘surge in cases of Monkey Pox’, and that Madrid airport was introducing stringent measures to cope with the supposed ‘problem’. Well, it is not.
The Spanish government’s website has not published a single article on MPox since 2023, and little from the Ministry of health, since earlier in the Summer about an already extent vaccination campaign. With regards to so-called ‘stringent controls’ at Madrid airport, the Madrid regional government has asked the airport management to ‘reinforce measures’, by which they can only mean continue with the same precautions that have been in place since Covid 19. There is no evidence to suggest that Spain has any bigger problem with MPox cases than any other European country, and none that suggest any airport is currently adding to already existent measures.
The sensationalist scare tactics of the UK press have British expats at the end of their tether, desperately trying to reassure their families back home that ‘no pasa nada’, the claims are all untrue. Such as they had to do with the flurry of claims of so-called ‘anti-British sentiment’. There were demonstrations in Barcelona and Mallorca early this summer against what the protestors saw as excessive tourism, but in the rest of the country, the protests were criticised by most Spaniards. Demonstrations in other parts of Spain were aimed at the boom in holiday rentals owned by large companies, forcing property prices through the roof, and nothing to do with British people at all.
The Brits are just as welcome and just as safe in Spain this Summer as they have always been, and us expats (immigrants if you prefer) have no idea why the UK press has been collectively making up scare stories about Spain this year.
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Passionate about music, food and the arts. After being completely immersed in the Spanish way of life for 25 years, I now share my knowhow and experience with you.
You have to laugh, this is your typical Spanish Spanish farce. The Spanish government really needs to hire Brits to answer these questions regarding procedures. First, the Spanish TV news and newspapers including the EWN have been highlighting the anti-tourisim demonstration so it is not as if the UK newspapers and TV stations are making these demonstrations up, they are happening and to be honest some are justified. Instead of the Spaish govermnment building more homes for Spanish people which would help or make it a law that for very 100 tourist homes built the builder must build 5 homes free of charge for Spanish people and the Spanish government can have a lottery to allocate the homes to the Spanish people. But here in sunny Spain the main mantra from the Spanish government is keep everything complicated and make complicated rules and decisions even ordinary Spanish people cannot understand, Spain has no concept of ´´common sense“ The Spanish elite are still Facist, they still don´t trust the Spanish people to do things correctly. And for the Brits, I hope they stop coming and the tourist revenue drops dramatically because it really is thanks to the British tourists that Spain id doing well in the world.
I have to suggest the anti brit feeling is around Spain we stay at a site in the Costa blanca. 2 weeks ago the guarda were called to a group of young men bullying a British lad apparently saying tourists to home.
This current Mpox epidemic highlights the importance of staying informed about infectious diseases and the measures we can all take to protect ourselves and our communities. The more we know about how Mpox spreads, the better we can protect our communities.. For detailed guidelines on how to protect yourself and your loved ones, find out more at mpox-disease.com and stay safe.
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