In this week’s Inside Spain, we look at how Spain’s opposition leader is increasing his anti-immigration rhetoric again, at a time when Spanish authorities are regretting not hitting the target of 100 million tourists a year.
The leader of the centre-right People’s Party Alberto Núñez Feijóo this week reignited his tough talk on immigration in response to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s new comments about immigration in Spain.
“No one is superfluous in Spain,” the PM argued on Thursday with regard to migrants.
“On the contrary, we need more people.”
Sánchez said that Spain has become a safe haven or a place of refuge in an increasingly turbulent world.
“Here you won’t find trade tensions, here you won’t find geopolitical risks, here you won’t find legal uncertainty,” he noted.
READ ALSO: PM hails Spain’s immigration approach as model for Europe to follow
Feijóo responded by stating that in his view there are “too many people” – or sobra gente – which could be interpreted as “some people are superfluous”.
The PP leader explained that those who “come to disrupt” coexistence, “break our laws, or take advantage of the efforts of other citizens” are surplus to needs in Spain.
“Anyone who comes to contribute is welcome, of course,” the leader of the opposition reiterated in a message on X.
Last October, Feijóo presented a number of immigration policies which he said his party would introduce if they reached power, ranging from introducing an Australian-style points-based visa system, to not offering permanent residency to migrants without proof of integration in Spain.
READ MORE: The 10 migration laws that will impact foreigners if Spain’s PP reaches power
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The PP leader continues to present himself as a ‘tough but fair’ candidate in terms of immigration, not as extreme as Vox but not as lenient as the PSOE.
Feijóo’s increased focus on immigrants has coincided with polls showing that the Partido Popular is losing a considerable share of its voters to the far-right party of Santiago Abascal.
Perhaps because criticising migrants galvanises certain voters? Vox just made big gains in Extremadura‘s regional election on the back of an anti-immigration campaign. That’s in the region with the lowest number of migrants in Spain.
And once again, the PP has proven that it’s willing to get into bed with Vox and govern in Extremadura, just as it has in five other regions. Feijóo has also now admitted he’s open to working with Vox on a national level.
Meanwhile, the total number of foreign tourists who visited Spain in 2025 has just been announced: 97 million.
It’s a record number but still short of the 100-million mark that tourism heads and the Spanish media seem obsessed with reaching, as well as dethroning France as the most visited country in the world.
Yes, tourism is a vital part of the Spanish economy (12 to 13 percent of the GDP) but if there’s an argument over whether there are too many immigrants in Spain or too many foreign tourists, the evidence would suggest the latter.
The negative impact of overtourism on the social fabric of Spain is well reported. The proliferation of Airbnbs has reduced long-term rental stock and pushed up prices, leading many locals to leave central neighbourhoods.
READ ALSO: ‘Invasive with unruly guests who don’t respect locals’ – The verdict on Airbnb in Spain
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Shops and services in popular city centres now cater for holidaymakers rather than residents, turning barrios into “theme parks”.
On the other hand, there are some experts who agree that more migrants means less housing stock overall, but no one has stated that they are a key reason for Spain’s housing crisis (aside from Vox).
Have immigrants changed the identity of some neighbourhoods? In a handful of areas in Barcelona and Madrid perhaps, an inevitable consequence of cities becoming more international.
More importantly, there’s an argument to say that there’s room for plenty more tourists and immigrants in Spain, they just need to be better distributed across a country with the most uneven population distribution in Western Europe, with the packed coast and the largely empty interior.
Regardless of that, don’t expect Feijóo or any right-wing politician to mention overtourism’s issues during their election campaign.
