Saloufest and Drinking Tourism

A wave of British tourists arrives once again to the Catalan coast to indulge in what is hard to find on their cold grey island: beaches, a lovely climate, cheap alcohol and easy sex. Thanks to the organizers of Saloufest – the festival of Salou, a town about 100 kms from Barcelona nearly 10.000 university students have enjoyed themselves throughout two weekes packed full of huge drunken parties and sports events. But the question remains: Are they disturbing the public order, or helping the economy with their tourism? Residents don’t seem to enjoy the spectacle nearly as much as the British visitors.

Sports and Drinking in the streets

The concept behind Saloufest, an event organized by a British agency, is that a student who wants to loosen up for week pays between 220 and 400 euros for a week’s vacation in Salou, near Tarragona, to have a good time. That’s to say, participate in sports activities during the day in costume instead of uniform, drink in the street while wearing only one shoe, sneak into pools while fully dressed, run naked through his hotel, have sex in elevators.
One business student from the University of Portsmouth, 22 year old Erik, has become the record holder for underwater ingestion of Sangria. He says “we came to play sports, but only with a hangover” between the end of March and the beginning of April, nearly 10.000 youths like Erik have come to discover the charms of the Mediterranean lifestyle. We certainly hope they have eaten more than just hamburgers, because the Catalan cuisine is marvellous.

Anything goes?

The Achilles heel of Saloufest is that it is not beneficial for everyone. In a certain way, the city government of Salou was seduced by its power to give an early season push to the tourist economy, and fill hotels and bars summer after summer. But the students aren’t welcomed warmly by many of this seaside city’s residents who feel that this initiative damages Salou´s image and causes problems.

Residents are not happy with the fact that the beach turns into a battleground for drinking games and parties, or that people drink in the streets at midday, shouting, breaking glass, disrupting resident’s sleep, and generally acting like the kings of the jungle. Perhaps residents are right: why should these students be permitted to do in Spain what they are not permitted to do in their own country? Spain is for them a theme park without limits, similar to the situation that occurs in Mexico every spring when American students descend upon Mexico in hordes looking to live “la vida loca”.

Maybe it’s a mistake to call it Drunken Tourism, as we hope that these students head back up north with good memories of their time. Is it their fault that they enjoy Catalonia? Perhaps they do not discover all of the cultural richness that others do, but they come and get us talking.

If you are also interested in seeing the luxuries of the Catalan coast, we recommend taking a visit to Barcelona, the fabulous, fascinating and fashion-forward provincial capital. For an affordable, comfortable trip you won’t regret, rent comfortable apartments in Barcelona.

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