An American on holiday in Benidorm: 'Where are the Spanish?'

A video which has since gone viral has generated hundreds of comments about how many of Spain's coastal towns are swamped with foreigners in the summer

Jordi Martínez

Benidorm

Tuesday, 8 October 2024, 17:24

Spain is one of the world's most popular tourist destinations, attracting millions of visitors every year. With its rich history, landscapes and gastronomy, it is not surprising that it is the second-most visited country in the world, second only to France. However, this popularity also brings with it negative aspects, especially during high season, when some places become saturated with foreign tourists, transforming their original essence into a kind of theme park.

This was recently pointed out by Marcus, an American TikTok user. During his visit to Benidorm, one of the busiest coastal towns in summer, he was surprised to notice more British than Spanish people. It triggered him to pose a question to his followers in one of his most recent videos: "Where are the Spanish?"

The video, which already has almost 20,000 views, shows the content creator's surprise at finding himself in an area dominated by British, German and other European tourists. "I'm in Benidorm for the first time and I swear we're not even in Spain," said Marcus, who pointed out that even the signage throughout the town is mostly in English.

During the video, Marcus repeats several times his astonishment at feeling as if he were in Britain instead of Spain. "Everyone is British, isn't this Spain anymore?" he asked, questioning the authenticity of the tourist destination he had picked for his holidays.

Reactions to the video

Marcus' TikTok has generated close to 300 comments, many of them from Spanish users who agree with his sentiments. Some mentioned that, when visiting Benidorm, they also had the feeling of being abroad due to the strong presence of international tourists.

@permanentmarcus1 Benidorm is like a british colony within spain #benidorm #españa #spain #britanicos #british #livingabroad #lifeinspain ♬ original sound - Cousin Marcus in Spain 🇪🇸

"My brother moved with his family to Altea because he felt like a foreigner there," one user said. "That's how it is in all the coastal places. At least on the Costa Brava we're the same, I live two streets away from the beach and I've been there three times this summer. In September it will be our time!"

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