Neither ugly nor unsafe: Spain’s La Línea shakes off prejudices in its tourist awakening
Thousands of tourists occupied an average of 89% of the 3,511 accommodation places (according to the Tourism Registry of the Andalusian regional government) in La Línea during July. The figure, provided by the Horeca Cádiz hoteliers federation, was so high that La Línea was placed as the third-busiest town in the province, behind Rota and Conil.
It is also almost 20% more than the average four years ago, according to the city council’s tourism delegation. “The city is regenerating and we are seeing tourist occupation,” says the mayor, Juan Franco. Hoteliers, restaurateurs and tourist agents confirm the municipal optimism. “The future is in the air,” predicts Javier Ramos, owner of the Caramba beach bar.
In a city of 63,700 inhabitants with unemployment rates that reach 30%, neighborhoods with social exclusion problems, a small municipal area that limits industrial options, and the direct influence of nearby Gibraltar, the City Council knows what it is at stake with tourism and is looking to increase the number of beds on offer. “It is still an incipient plan, but steps are being taken towards a friendly city,” Franco points out, although the mayor is aware of the pitfalls that other tourist towns are now suffering, besieged by gentrification and housing problems. “As we are the last to arrive, we see the failures of others and we don’t want to repeat them. Last year, a visitor told me that it was a shame that La Línea was hardly being promoted. I answered: ‘And who said we want more people to come?’”
