Spain's visitor numbers have smashed records. Tourists are swerving the Middle East. And Whitehall is worried. Not about the Spanish economy. About ours.
The numbers are stark. Spain welcomed 85 million foreign visitors last year. Up 12 per cent on pre-pandemic levels. The Mediterranean sunbelt is hoovering up demand. The Foreign Office's travel advice for Israel, Lebanon and parts of the Gulf is keeping British holidaymakers closer to home.
But here's the rub. Travel industry insiders tell me this is a displacement, not a surge. The overall pie of global tourism is flat. The 'staycation' boom is fading. Brits are going abroad again. They are just not going far. Spain, Portugal, Greece. The usual suspects.
And that is causing a quiet panic at the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Because if the Med is full, where does that leave British seaside towns? Blackpool, Skegness, Margate. They had a brief renaissance during Covid. Now they are losing out to Benidorm again.
The data is brutal. Domestic overnight trips fell 7 per cent last year. Spending in seaside resorts dropped by 9 per cent. The lobby group UK Hospitality is briefing MPs. They want a tourism VAT cut. They want more bank holidays. They want the government to 'level up' the coast.
But the Treasury is resistant. Why? Because they see the balance of payments. Every pound spent in Spain is a pound not spent in Britain. But every pound spent in Spain also saves the NHS money. Fewer sick days from British rain. No. That is too cynical.
The real fear in Number 10 is about perception. If the British resort industry collapses, it will be another 'broken Britain' story. The Red Wall seats that turned Tory in 2019 are coastal. They expect the government to protect them.
So what is the plan? I hear the Tourism Minister is pushing a 'dynamic pricing' scheme for seaside attractions. Lower prices in off-peak times. But the industry says that is a papering-over crack. They want investment. They want HS2 to connect to the coast. They want cheap loans for hotel refurbishment.
Meanwhile, the Spanish are laughing. They are investing in digital nomad visas. They are promoting 'slow travel' and sustainable tourism. They are stealing a march.
The question is whether Starmer's government can turn the tide. Or whether the British seaside will be left to the gulls and the ghost trains.
From the Westminster lobby, that is the inside track. The displacement is real. The headache is Labour's. And the sun is not setting on Spain's boom.
