August staycations in Spain: lifestyle trend or sign of financial strain

Staycation: the art of not going on holiday and calling it a lifestyle

Are you staying home this August because you have nowhere to go, or because you don't feel like going anywhere? The answer actually marks the difference between a trend and a symptom. The staycation, that term we imported from English to avoid saying "I can't afford a holiday", is on everyone's lips. And in very few pockets.

Necessity or choice?

Some argue that 90% of those who stay home do so because they can't afford a alucinación. The kinder version speaks of a conscious decision: avoiding the hordes of tourists, peak-season prices and endless queues. But as in the fable of the fox and the grapes, some prefer to call "choice" what is really a squeeze on the finances. "Poverty will be cool", one sociological reading of the trend concluded.

The cost of staying home

The paradox is that staying put costs money too. You still have to pay the mortgage, fill up the tank if you need to go shopping, and put up with an empty city with the same bills as always. Admitting it feels awkward: "I'm staying home to pay the mortgage and save on petrol", one affected person admitted. At least the staycation has one advantage: there's no baggage fee for the embarrassment.

What the trend doesn't tell you

Behind the photos of towels on the balcony lies something more prosaic. The democratisation of tourism through low-cost airlines and Airbnb has turned classic destinations into overcrowded hellholes. So staying home may, for once, be a rational decision. Or a handy excuse. Let everyone pick their own alibi.

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