{"id":12064,"date":"2026-04-26T11:24:08","date_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:24:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/12064\/"},"modified":"2026-04-26T11:24:08","modified_gmt":"2026-04-26T11:24:08","slug":"the-influencer-war-raging-over-spains-new-benidorm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/spain\/12064\/","title":{"rendered":"The influencer war raging over Spain’s ‘new Benidorm’"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTANDER \u2013 Influencers are under fire over accusations of trying to turn Spain\u2019s<\/a> still relatively untouched North Atlantic coast into \u201cthe new Benidorm\u201d.<\/p>\n

An iconic holiday destination to millions of Britons, Benidorm<\/a> is the resort where the Spanish tourism revolution began in the 50s and is also hugely popular with Spaniards.<\/p>\n

However, a growing number of Spanish influencers have been posting videos on social media suggesting that the cooler climes of Cantabria, Asturias, Galicia and the Basque Country are rapidly becoming the new fashionable places to holiday \u2013 preferable to the searing summer temperatures of the Costa Blanca.<\/p>\n

Bea Gimeno, who has 198,000 followers on Instagram and 43,000 on TikTok, posted a video in which she tells viewers: \u201cThe north brings us together again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alejandra Navarro, another influencer with 144,000 followers on Instagram and 39,000 followers on TikTok, published a similar post, in which she says: \u201cHow wonderful it is to be up north when it rains. I truly love it.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn Madrid, when it rains, everything seems like a bureaucratic nightmare. Here, when it rains, I can breathe easier.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ViewPoniente Beach in Benidorm, located on the famous Costa Blanca (Photo: Jose A Bernat Bacete\/Getty)<\/p>\n

In a light-hearted response to these posts, El Confidencial, an influential online newspaper, posted a video in which it blamed influencers for \u201cBenidormising\u201d the north of Spain.<\/p>\n

In a TikTok video, the presenter says that inhabitants of Cantabria, the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia were beginning to see the adverse sides of the Atlantic coast\u2019s growing popularity.<\/p>\n

\u201cMenus in English, house prices rising. The north of Spain is \u2018Benidormisanding\u2019,\u201d the journalist said.<\/p>\n

The influencers\u2019 videos may be humorous but reveal a serious point about the growing importance of tourism in northern Spain<\/a>.<\/p>\n

An analysis of the growth of the service sector, which includes tourism as well as areas such as transport and trade, between 2000 and 2024 shows that the tourism industry is becoming more important to the region, according to data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute.<\/p>\n

@elconfidencial<\/a> <\/p>\n

\u00bfEl Norte es el nuevo Benidorm? \ud83c\udf27\ufe0f\ud83d\udcf8 Lo que empez\u00f3 como un refugio de las influencers para huir del calor de Madrid se est\u00e1 convirtiendo en un problema serio. El \u201cNortito\u201d ya no es solo un filtro aesthetic de Instagram; es una econom\u00eda entera transform\u00e1ndose. \ud83d\udcc9 Asturias, Cantabria y el Pa\u00eds Vasco est\u00e1n cambiando las f\u00e1bricas por los abridores de sidra. y eso tiene consecuencias. \ud83d\udcb8 Te lo explico en 1 minuto. .#Norte<\/a> #Asturias<\/a> #Euskadi<\/a> #Influencers<\/a> #Gentrificaci\u00f3n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u266c sonido original \u2013 El Confidencial<\/a> <\/p>\n

Between these dates, there was an 11.7 per cent increase in the sector terms in the GDP of the Basque Country. In Cantabria, this figure rose by 10.6 per cent, 10.4 per cent in Asturias and 9.3 per cent in Galicia.<\/p>\n

Iraide Fern\u00e1ndez Arag\u00f3n, professor of sociology at the University of the Basque Country, warned that the growing tourism industry could leave northern Spain suffering the same effects as the Mediterranean coastal resorts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we are seeing is a paradox: this image of the region\u2019s greenery, authenticity and strong sense of identity \u2013 of quality tourism which is less saturated than the Mediterranean \u2013 is what could mean it turns into the same thing eventually,\u201d she told El Confidencial.<\/p>\n

\"SANTANDERThe beach of El Sardinero in Santander, Cantabria (Photo: Nacho Cubero\/Europa Press via Getty)<\/p>\n

Other commentators said climate change was an important factor in changing holiday habits.<\/p>\n

Xavier Pascuet, a tourism consultant, said British holidaymakers appeared to be changing their behaviour because of warming temperatures in the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat may seem like a trend \u2013 summer travel shifting north [of Spain or Europe] \u2013 may actually be an early sign of adaptation to physical limits which are already there,\u201d he told The i Paper.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a practical response to extreme heat, territorial saturation and declining climate comfort in the Mediterranean. So maybe let\u2019s disguise this as a trend when in fact it is a need?\u201d<\/p>\n

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