Spanish locals apparently use a nasty nickname for some holidaymakers, including plenty of Irish and Brits who flock to the sunny beaches of mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands islands. Travellers may have heard the less-than-flattering nickname 'guiri,' which natives use to describe some holidaymakers enjoying a Spanish getaway - very commonly heard to describe tourists in hotspots such as Benidorm, Lanzarote and Malaga. Pronounced 'guee-ree', the word is often used to describe Irish visitors, as well as any tourists who fit a certain profile.
To Spanish locals, guiris can be spotted dressed in typical holiday garb, allowing themselves to get sunburnt and drinking plenty of sangria. Typically, Northern European holidaymakers who love to let their hair down and enjoy a drink or two on their sunshine getaways get labelled with the nickname. Across Spain this summer, locals were protesting against mass tourism.
In July, one demonstration in Mallorca was called the 'Guiri-Marcha' as protestors dressed up as foreign tourists. Protestors at one of Majorca's most popular party beaches staged a sit-in as part of anti-tourism demonstrations this month. The campaigners took to Platja de Palma saying that tourists had turned a stunning beach into a hotspot for drunken antics and warned more protests will follow.
The offensiveness of the term guiri can vary depending on its origin story. Some sources suggest that 'guiri' comes from the Basque word 'gigi', meaning 'blonde' or 'fair-s.