Retif holidaymakers will be “baked” because of Spain’s “stupid” new energy-saving measures, a Costa del Sol tourist chief has claimed. Shops, bars and restaurants, supermarkets and airports in one of the UK’s favorite overseas holiday destinations are banned from setting their cooling systems below 27 degrees Celsius (80.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in summer – and they say they can’t raise their heating above 19 degrees Celsius (66.2 degrees Fahrenheit) in winter. The Spanish government’s new decree goes into effect next week. Hotels are also affected, although it emerged earlier this week tourists can continue to keep their hotel rooms cool during the Spanish heatwave because they are considered private spaces. Banquets and other public areas of hotels will have to comply with the new laws.
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The rules have been criticized by many hotel and restaurant owners and associations, with one argument being that Seville and other cities known for their hot summers should not be treated in the same way as Galicia, which is very cooler. Lights will also have to be switched off in shop fronts and vacant government offices from 10pm under the new rules, which will be in place until November next year. Francisco Salado, the head of the Costa del Sol tourist board, has launched one of the strongest attacks yet on energy saving measures. He told the authoritative Malaga-based newspaper La Opinion de Malaga: “Tourism is the industry of well-being, happiness, rest and relaxation. “We want satisfied tourists, not burnt out tourists or vacationers who are afraid to walk down dark streets. “This government order is a direct attack on everything we have worked hard to achieve over many years, which is that holidaymakers go home happy and looking forward to returning.” He added: “The decree has been designed and formulated behind the backs of economic factors and the productive, social and climatic reality of our country. “Spain is not Germany or Finland and our customs, timetables and social and work habits are not Northern or Central European. “It gets dark much earlier there and we live much more at night. “In Spain the diversity and differences in climate and temperature are huge depending on the region. “It is as if this decree had been drawn up by an Arian who is profoundly ignorant of Spain and has consulted no one.” Earlier this week, right-wing Madrid regional president Isabel Diaz Ayuso put herself on a collision course with Spain’s left-wing government, vowing to ignore the shutdown, arguing it would cause “darkness, poverty and sadness” and scare the tourists. He said: “As far as the Madrid area is concerned, it will not be implemented.” Colleagues later admitted the law should be upheld after opposition backlash. Fines for those who commit “minor offences” under the new law will be set at up to £50,000. Serious breaches could lead to fines of up to £83m. The energy-saving measures were announced as Spain entered its third heat wave this summer. Spanish meteorologists said last month was the driest so far this year and the second warmest since at least 1950. The sea in areas like the Costa Blanca is still at 30C. Javier Andaluz, Head of Ecologists in Action, said of the new government rules that follow an EU political agreement on energy-saving measures linked to the war in Ukraine: “The measures are sufficient but also insufficient and too late. “It is unfortunate that this is being imposed as an exceptional circumstance and as a sacrifice for the war in Ukraine, when there are necessary and common-sense measures to be taken due to the climate emergency and energy crisis we are experiencing.”
