Destination Spain: Sociopolitical Dimensions of a Sociodemographic Phenomenon

Spain is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. Every year, millions of Europeans, and increasingly people from other countries around the world, choose Spain as a vacation destination. Commonly referred to as “long-term tourists” or “retirement migrants,” many Europeans, especially from older age groups, are also choosing Spain as their country of residence. This phenomenon has been commonly examined through the lens of both Tourism Studies and Migration Studies. In this chapter, we consider retirement migration from the viewpoint of Spain. We start with an overview of the main demographic trends and themes in the academic literature. As we will see, Spanish research work on this topic has evolved significantly over time, oscillating between an analysis of retirement migration as a distinct form of tourism or migration. Following this, we consider the phenomenon from a socioeconomic perspective, interrogating the economic, environmental and social impact of the settlement of hundreds of thousands of older Europeans in a relatively small area of the country. To finish the chapter, we examine how these effects have been reflected at a political level in European and national parliamentary debates.