New tourism promo of Spain's interior clashes with lack of international flights
The Spanish government this week launched a new tourism campaign to promote some of the lesser known areas of inland Spain to foreign visitors, but recent cuts to an already small number of international flights might hinder the idea.
The campaign by Turespaña, Spain's Institute of Tourism, has a a slogan ¿Crees que conoces España? Piénsalo mejor or 'Think you know Spain? Think again.'
It aims to highlight hidden gems found inland in Spain beyond the typical tourist destinations on the coast, many of which are suffering from oversaturation in the property market and have seen anti-tourism protests in recent years.
READ ALSO: Cities in Spain kick off second summer of overtourism protests
“We want the world to share the thousand dimensions of Spain,” explained Spain's Minister of Industry and Tourism Jordi Hereu at the presentation ceremony, emphasising that the change in strategy is a move towards a more sustainable tourism model that will allow Spain to maintain its global leadership in the sector.
Hereu pointed out that the aim of the new campaign is to open “a window to the world” for all regions of Spain, whom he also thanked for their collaboration in jointly developing the project.
“The sun will continue to shine, as it always has, on Spain's seas, coasts, beaches and capitals, but this campaign is designed to shine a light on the thousands of treasures that we all know about in our country but which the world is still unaware of," he said, noting it was the first active tourism campaign by the government to target inland Spain.
The minister also stressed that seasonal adjustment and better decentralisation of tourism throughout the country are essential to ensure a sustainable future for the sector. Spain broke a record in 2024 with 94 million international tourists and is expected to reach 100 million this year.
“If we want to remain leaders in international tourism, we need to decentralise destinations,” Hereu said.
“Now the focus must be on the parts of Spain that need further development.”
But the campaign, however needed and well-intentioned, may come up against problems due to a glaring shortage in international flights arriving at airports in Spain's interior, with the exception of the capital Madrid and Seville.
Zaragoza for example, which is now Spain's fourth most populous city with 691,000 inhabitants, only has regular international flights to and from London, Milan, Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca, as well as seasonal flights to Paris, Marrakech and Fez. Therefore, the best way for most international tourists to reach the capital of Aragón is flying to either Madrid or Barcelona and catching a train that last around one hour and 30 minutes.
The lack of international flights is even more evident at airports in other cities in Spain's interior such as Pamplona, Burgos, Salamanca, Logroño, Valladolid, León Pamplona and Badajoz, for which train connections from Madrid and Barcelona are also less frequent and take longer.
The disparity in international flights between the popular coastal holiday spots and Spain's interior risks becoming even larger when carriers deem that routes to smaller regional airports are no longer profitable enough to maintain.
Early in 2025, Ryanair closed its bases in Jerez and Valladolid, and cut its routes at airports such as Santiago de Compostela, Asturias, Cantabria, and Zaragoza, favouring instead increasing flights to Spain’s major hubs: Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga as well as the Canary and Balearic Islands.
READ ALSO: Ryanair warns it may cut even more flights to Spain's smaller airports
In fact, Ryanair's CEO Eddie Wilson has warned that the low-cost carrier could cut even more flights to Spain's smaller regional airports after already axing 800,000 seats this year, with an ongoing fees dispute with Spanish airport operator Aena given as the reason for this.
Although Spain has one of the best rail networks in the world, not all holidaymakers are willing to catch a train after spending several hours on a flight, which evidences that Spanish authorities may have to go to greater lengths to improve services (not just flight connections) in the country's interior if they really wish to encourage tourists to visit.
— Ministerio de Industria y Turismo (@minturgob) June 25, 2025👀'Think you know Spain? Think again'
📽️Os presentamos la nueva campaña de @Turespana_ para compartir con el mundo las mil dimensiones de España. pic.twitter.com/yrsjBQgPg3
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