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☆ Tourism in Spain is booming, despite protests that included spraying visitors with water guns
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-17 | by ( Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Spain's tourism is still booming, with record numbers of international visitors. A travel industry expert said mass protests are unlikely on their own to deter travelers. AdvertisementProtesters in Spain staged massive demonstrations against overtourism this year that made headlines worldwide — especially after spraying tourists in Barcelona with water guns. The tourism protests intensified in April when an estimated 20,000 to 50,000 people in the Canary Islands demanded tourism limits be enacted. The protests, however, could impact government policy in a way that may help curb or better manage tourism in the future, Eylon said.

Persons: —, Amir Eylon, it's, Eylon Organizations: overtourism, Service, Spain's National Statistics Institute, Business, Longwoods Locations: Spain, Barcelona, Mallorca, Malaga, Spanish, Canary

☆ Italy makes it illegal to seek surrogacy abroad
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

ROME — Italy’s parliament made it illegal on Wednesday for couples to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy — a project of Prime Minister’s Giorgia Meloni party which activists say is meant to target same-sex partners. The upper house Senate voted into law a bill proposed by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party by 84 votes to 58. “Motherhood is absolutely unique, it absolutely cannot be surrogated, and it is the foundation of our civilization,” Brothers of Italy senator Lavinia Mennuni said during the parliamentary debate. “We want to uproot the phenomenon of surrogacy tourism.”Earlier this year, Meloni called surrogacy an "inhuman" practice that treated children as supermarket products, echoing a position expressed by the Catholic Church. Here instead you are sent to jail... if you don’t have children in the traditional way,” Franco Grillini, a long-time activist for LGBTQ rights in Italy, told Reuters at the demonstration.

Persons: ROME —, Minister’s Giorgia, Meloni, Meloni’s Brothers, ”, Lavinia Mennuni, ” Franco Grillini, Alessia Crocini Organizations: Catholic Church, Reuters, Rainbow Locations: Italy, United States, Canada

☆ Italy makes it illegal for couples to have a baby by surrogacy overseas
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-16 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Rome Reuters —Italy’s parliament made it illegal on Wednesday for couples to go abroad to have a baby via surrogacy — a pet project of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s party which activists say is meant to target same-sex partners. Since taking office in 2022, Meloni has pursued a highly conservative social agenda, looking to promote what she sees as traditional family values, making it progressively harder for LGBTQ couples to become legal parents. The upper house Senate voted into law a bill proposed by Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party by 84 votes to 58. “We want to uproot the phenomenon of surrogacy tourism.”Earlier this year, Meloni called surrogacy an ‘inhuman’ practice that treated children as supermarket products, echoing a position expressed by the Catholic Church. Rainbow Families President Alessia Crocini said 90% of Italians who choose surrogacy are heterosexual couples but they mostly do so in secret, meaning the new ban would de facto affect only gay couples who cannot hide it.

Persons: Rome, Giorgia, Meloni, Meloni’s Brothers, ”, Lavinia Mennuni, ” Franco Grillini, Alessia Crocini Organizations: Rome Reuters —, Catholic Church, Reuters, Rainbow Locations: Italy, United States, Canada

On July 6, thousands of anti-tourism protesters marched through the streets of Barcelona, shouting: "Tourists go home!" Tourists caught in the crossfire of Barcelona's July protest — some of whom endured water guns and confrontations caught on tape — may not be inclined to return. And the top three most popular destinations were the very spots where protesters staged marches this year. A spokesperson for Barcelona's City Council told CNBC Travel that managing the city's tourism is one its main priorities since it is "reaching a limit with 17 million visitors per year." 'Winning the struggle'Despite claims that an influx of summer tourists humiliated protesters, Rivacoba said they are enthusiastic.

Persons: —, Skift, Booking.com, Daniel Pardo Rivacoba, Josep Lago, Rivacoba, Clara Margais, touristification, Marc Asensio, overtourism, Paco Freire Organizations: Spain's National Statistics Institute, Mallorca —, Catalonia —, CNBC, Mallorca, Neighbourhoods, Tourism Degrowth, Afp, Getty, CNBC Travel, Management, Barcelona's City Council, America's, Nurphoto Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Catalonia, Andalusia, Mallorca, Barcelona's, Spanish

☆ Mass protest on Spanish island Mallorca calls for ‘limits on tourism’
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-22 | by ( Louis Mian | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Thousands of people took to the streets to protest against mass tourism on the island of Mallorca on Sunday as pushback against holidaymakers in Spain continued. ET) according to organizers Menys Turisme, Mas Vida (Less Tourism, More Life), although police put the figure at around 12,000, RTVE reported. Juan Medina/ReutersThe demonstration included around 110 groups and social movements, according to Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. It came amid growing tensions over the impact of tourism on local areas in Spain. In April, a hunger strike was called by locals in the Spanish Canary Islands, protesting against excessive tourism, which protesters said is pricing out locals and leading to environmental damage.

Persons: Jaime Reina, Menys, Mas, RTVE, ”, Juan Medina Organizations: CNN, Palma de Mallorca, AFP, Getty, Tourists, Reuters, RTVE, Spanish National Statistics Institute, Islands Locations: Mallorca, Spain, Palma de, Tourism, El Arenal, Balearic, Menorca, Ibiza, Formentera, Barcelona, Canary Islands

CNN —Ecuador is temporarily suspending a visa waiver agreement with China, citing evidence of irregular migration flows of Chinese citizens through the small South American country. A statement from the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said that about half of Chinese citizens who entered the country in recent months did not leave through “regular routes” or within the 90 days they were permitted to stay. In 2023, Ecuador documented 48,381 entries by Chinese nationals and about 24,240 exits, leaving a difference of 24,141 – the highest number of any nationality, according to data from the national statistics institute. By contrast, Ecuador documented around 13,000 Chinese nationals entering in 2022. Ecuador said it is committed to the security of visitors to prevent them from being victims of human trafficking as well as ensuring “adequate national immigration control.”Asked about Ecuador’s decision to suspend visa waivers, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said, “Since the China-Ecuador Mutual Visa Exemption Agreement came into effect in August 2016, it has played a positive role in bilateral personnel exchanges and practical cooperation in various fields.”Lin added that China “firmly opposes any form of smuggling activities” and that its law enforcement agencies have “vigorously cracked down on illegal crimes that impede border management.”

Persons: zou xian ”, ”, Lin Jian, ” Lin, China “ Organizations: CNN, Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, Ecuador Locations: Ecuador, China, Quito

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's economy barely eked out a 0.1% increase in the fourth quarter, bringing estimated growth for 2023 to 3.1%, according to preliminary figures published Tuesday by Mexico’s National Statistics Institute. The institute said that services advanced 0.1% in the fourth quarter, agricultural output declined by the same amount and manufacturing remained unchanged. Inflation declined to 4.66% by the end of 2023, but domestic interest rates remained high at 11.5%. High rates at home and abroad increased the cost of servicing Mexico’s debt, the Treasury Department acknowledged. Mexico’s peso remained strong Tuesday at about 17.20 to $1 and the Mexican stock exchange’s main index was trading slightly higher.

Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Mexico’s National Statistics Institute, Treasury Department, Associated Press Locations: MEXICO

☆ U.S. Visitors Push Portugal's Foreign Tourism to Record in November
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-15 | by ( Jan. | At A.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON (Reuters) - Almost 140,000 visitors from the United States brought the number of foreign tourists in Portugal to a record high last November, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Monday. Overall, 1.1 million foreigners travelled to Portugal in November, a record number for that month. Spaniards and Britons came second and third, with 131,000 and 124,000 travellers respectively, INE said in its monthly report. The number of U.S. tourists has grown significantly in recent years as they increasingly find the southern European country cheap, sunny and safe. Tourism, a key driver of Portugal's economy, accounted for almost 15% of gross domestic product before the pandemic.

Persons: Patrícia Vicente Rua, Inti Landauro, Alex Richardson Organizations: National Statistics Institute, Britons Locations: LISBON, United States, Portugal, Tourism

☆ Foreign tourism to Portugal registers best-ever first half
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Aug 14 (Reuters) - The number of foreign tourists visiting Portugal surpassed eight million in January-June, making it the best first half on record, official data showed on Monday. Tourism, a key driver of Portugal's economy, accounted for almost 15% of gross domestic product before the pandemic. Visitors from Britain made up the largest share of total arrivals in the first half, with over one million visitors, closely followed by the Spanish and U.S. markets. In June, the United States, which has significantly grown as a source of tourism to Portugal, represented the second-largest group of foreign visitors. ($1 = 0.9142 euros)Reporting by Patrícia Vicente Rua; Editing by Andrei Khalip and Bernadette BaumOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Patrícia Vicente Rua, Andrei Khalip, Bernadette Baum Organizations: National Statistics Institute, Spanish, International Air Transport Association, Thomson Locations: LISBON, Portugal, Britain, U.S, United States, Southern Europe

☆ Spain to launch app to find out if men shun household chores
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Spain’s equality ministry says it will launch an app designed to monitor the sharing of chores between members of a household, as part of a drive to improve gender equality. “What surveys tell us is that women spend a lot more time on household chores than men do,” said Rodríguez, who added that the app will allow each member of the household to input the time they spend on chores. According to a survey from Spain’s national statistics institute, published in December, 45.9% of female respondents said they carried out the majority of household chores, compared to just 14.9% of men. Rodríguez emphasized that all sorts of different tasks should be considered household chores. “All of those who are offended by the household chores app are really offended by the possibility that they will have to start doing their bit at home,” she wrote.

☆ Spain inflation falls more than expected to 3.3% in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 30 (Reuters) - Spain's consumer price inflation slowed to 3.3% in March, its weakest annual rate since August 2021 and down from 6.0% in February, preliminary data from the National Statistics Institute showed on Thursday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected a rate of 3.8%. This drop is mainly due to the fact that electricity and fuel prices increased in March 2022 and decreased this month, the statistics agency said. Core inflation, which strips out volatile fresh food and energy prices, was 7.5% year-on-year, slightly below the 7.6% recorded in February, the data showed. Spain's European Union-harmonised 12-month inflation was 3.1%, down from 6.0% in February and below the 4.0% expected by analysts polled by Reuters.

☆ Spain's economy grew 5.5% in 2022 after faster-than-expected last quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-27 | by ( Belén Carreño | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Spain's gross domestic product grew a faster-than-expected 5.5% in 2022 as the country avoided a recession in the final quarter despite fears of a global slowdown, official data showed on Friday. Spain's GDP grew 0.2% in the fourth quarter from the previous quarter and 2.7% from the same quarter in 2021, the National Statistics Institute said on Friday. The final GDP data beat both the original official forecast for the year, which was 4.5%, and the 5% anticipated by Prime Minister in late 2022. Exports, one of the driving forces of the Spanish economy in 2022, came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter as the global economy slowed. The Spanish economy shrunk 11.3% in 2020 when the pandemic shut down tourism, and the economy has not yet fully recovered to pre-Covid levels.

☆ Peru's economy grows 1.68% year-on-year in November
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

LIMA, Jan 15 (Reuters) - Peru's economy expanded 1.68% in November compared with the same month a year before, the national statistics institute (INEI) said on Sunday, marking a slight slowdown from the year-on-year rise of 2.01% in October. 2 copper producer drove growth in November, including mining, agriculture, power utilities, construction, retail, transportation and other services. From January to November, the economy grew 2.70%, INEI said. A central bank official last week said the Andean country's economy likely grew just under 2.9% last year, less than forecast, due in part to protests over the ousting in December of former leftist President Pedro Castillo. Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Grant McCoolOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain's 12-month inflation slows down again in December to 5.8%
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Still, core inflation, which strips out volatile fresh food and energy prices, was at 6.9% year-on-year, higher than the 6.3% recorded a month ago, the INE data showed. In November, Spain had the lowest inflation in the 27-member European Union with a rate of 6.7%, after peaking in July at around 11%. Core inflation is taking longer to come down because it took longer to go up," Economy Minister Nadia Calviño said in an interview with broadcaster SER. Spain's European Union-harmonised 12-month inflation was 5.6%, down from 6.7% in November and below the 6.0% expectation from analysts polled by Reuters. Reporting by Joanna Jonczyk-Gwizdala and Belén Carreño, Editing by David Latona and Andrei KhalipOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain's November retail sales fall 0.6% on year
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - Spanish retail sales fell 0.6% in November from a year earlier on a seasonally and calendar-adjusted basis, after rising 1.0% in October, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Thursday. As shoppers grapple with the rising cost of living exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, food sales in Spain recorded an annual decrease of 3.6% in November, INE said. Meanwhile, sales of other goods grew 0.5% year-on-year. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez announced a new raft of measures worth 10 billion euros ($10.64 billion) to ease the pain of inflation, which includes slashing value-added tax on essential foods to 0% from 4% during the first six months of 2023. ($1 = 0.9401 euros)Reporting by Jakub Olesiuk; Editing by David Latona and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Spain's 12-month inflation down to 7.3% in October
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

Nov 15 (Reuters) - Spanish consumer prices rose 7.3% year-on-year in October, down from 8.9% in the period through September, final data released by the National Statistics Institute showed on Tuesday. Analysts polled by Reuters saw the 12-month inflation through October at 7.3%, the same as the flash estimate released two weeks ago. Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, was 6.2% year-on-year, the same level as a month earlier. The 12-month European Union-harmonised price stood at 7.3%, the same as the INE's previous estimate two weeks ago. Reporting by Marta Serafinko, editing by Inti LandauroOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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