A survey by the market research company Ipsos on behalf of the UN's World Tourism Organisation has found that only 20% of Spaniards are in favour of there being a limit to the number of tourist establishments. The number was lower for limiting the number of tourists themselves and stopping tourism promotion - just 18% and 13% in favour, respectively.
In Spain as a whole, 70% of those surveyed believed that measures need to be adopted to improve the management of tourism. In the Balearics, this figure was at its highest - 93%; the Canaries followed with 78%.
Fifty-nine per cent of respondents said that they live in cities with high numbers of tourists. In the Balearics, this was 90%. Improvements to infrastructure in order to handle growing numbers of tourists in cities were favoured by 73% nationwide.
A majority of Spaniards, 64%, believe that tourism plays a significant role in generating wealth and revenue. Fifty-nine per cent felt that tourism facilitates cultural exchange and creates employment.
The most negative perception of tourism relates to the cost of housing; 56% think that tourism pushes up the price of homes in cities, while 55% believe that the cost of goods and services rise because of tourism.
