Tourists Tighten Wallets in the Rías Baixas

Two Portions of Barbecue for Six: The Slowdown in Tourist Spending

«They're ordering two portions of barbecue for six people.» This example was cited by La Voz de Galicia on August 24, 2023. The newspaper quoted Mirian Cidrás, from the Galifornia beach bar in Tuia beach (Bueu). Owners of beach bars along the Sanxenxo and Bueu coastline noted that «although many people with money are coming,» there's a noticeable slowdown in spending, affecting both food and drinks as well as the rental of pedal boats or sun loungers.

Prices That No Longer Add Up

In the thread, several users mention prices they consider exorbitant: octopus at 15 euros a portion, barbecue at 10, two plastic-cup beers with olives for 9 euros, a regular coffee for 1.50, or two glasses of manzanilla sherry in an industrial estate bar for 4 euros. Others mention a small ice cream at 2.50, medium at 3.80, and large at 4.20 in Elche, and a full breakfast for 7.50 in Potes. These are testimonials and calculations from participants, not data from the report.

Some summarize the effect on orders arithmetically: «If you order one portion and two thirds, it's the same as a minimum daily menu.» Terrace snacking, which used to be an alternative to cooking, is now competing with a full dinner, several participants maintain. And the customer, when the bill gets out of hand, cuts back, according to this view: first the number of dishes; then, the number of days.

Why Are Tourists Tightening Their Wallets?

Several participants argue that it's not just beach bars that are increasing prices: mortgages, grocery shopping, and gasoline are also going up. They add that salaries are not keeping pace with prices. When money becomes scarce for necessities, the cutbacks fall on non-essentials, and eating out is the first thing to be sacrificed, according to this argument.

Some point to a less openly admitted detail: the consumer credit that, according to this narrative, many used to finance the start of their holidays runs out just before September. From then on, it's time to ration. Several users describe the return of portable coolers, packed lunches, and pre-prepared supermarket meals to eat in the shade.

The Elastic Portion: Same Tray, Four Charges

One user recounts a case that, according to their testimony, generated the most arguments. A stall with a sign advertising 10 euros per portion of octopus and barbecue. Two couples ordered one of each to share, standing up, without a table. The final bill: 80 euros. The establishment considered one portion to be for one diner, so the price on the sign was multiplied by four. The same user claims that arguments at payment and requests for complaint forms were repeated.

The episode, according to this testimony, illustrates an information problem, not just a price issue. The menu says one thing, the waiter interprets another, and the customer discovers the rule when they can no longer leave. In the south, they add, half-portion prices are listed on the menu.

From Selling Volume to Selling Margin

One participant argues that Spanish restaurants were built on narrow margins and high turnover, and that this model is mutating towards the European one: high margin, similar volume. They give the example of beer: at 3.50 instead of 1.50, the bar becomes a domestic luxury. Another adds that whoever has an empty establishment welcomes any order with relief; whoever has a queue curses it, because a table of shared portions blocks the space that would have been occupied by a steak per person.

The argument of foreign tourists as a lifeline doesn't quite hold up, according to some participants. A German or an Englishman isn't going to come here to pay something that only differs by 50 cents from prices in their own country, argues one user. Another points out that there is also inflation in their countries, but their salaries are expected to adjust sooner, so foreign tourism might not fare too badly in the coming years.

One user draws attention to a detail: barbecue is one of the cheapest items, so if even that dish is being rationed for six people, the problem isn't just the tourist.