Just what is Spain’s ‘Inner Destination’, and will you visit?

Are you ready to experience Spain's 'other' attractions?

The annual summer boost to Spain’s economy is in full swing, bringing much-needed jobs and revenue to many of the country’s cash-strapped corners.

It happens like clockwork, triggered – it seems – by clockwork. As soon as the clocks go forward, the mercury begins to rise and visitor numbers to Spain swell. So it has been for decades: millions of tourists visit Spain to spend their hard-earned readies in hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, clubs and shops…

The annual influx tides over a number of seasonal businesses until the following summer. The cycle completes, then repeats, year in, year out. However, the Spanish government has hit upon a novel idea that won’t break the cycle, but may well extend it.

Last month, amid fairly muted fanfare, Rajoy’s government rubber-stamped a domestic advertising campaign urging Spaniards to do as their European cousins do – visit Spain. Or rather, the more elegant official slogan of – “Spain, your inner destination.”

It’s sound logic, really. Convince the natives to do as the tourists do, and the coffers are swollen all year round. The obvious problem, of course, is one of cash flow. One in ten Spanish households have no wage earner, and gross domestic product has fallen by 0.5 per cent in the past quarter.

Just how these depressing figures can be transferred into growth remains a mystery, but the government is bullish that this campaign can get Spaniards of all ages and wealth thinking more inwardly the next time they are planning a holiday.

Initially, the targets will be Spain’s middle and upper classes, with the campaign aiming to convince farmers and rural homeowners to open their piles to higher-end tourists keen on seeing Spain’s less travelled path. With cheap Greek and Turkish beach resorts a growing threat to Spain’s own, the government is eager to diversify its tourism into areas such as hiking, mountain biking and birdwatching.

It is an inspired move by Rajoy’s government, and one which may not yield immediate results, but should at least plant that seed of thought into the minds of those Spaniards who still have a disposable income to play with that, you know what, a staycation sounds ideal.

Not only do they get to see some of Spain’s beautiful countryside, but they will also be helping their country’s economy, too. A potential win-win – here’s hoping it will be a success.