After each massive act, be it a sporting event, a demonstration or patron saint parties, there is always a question: how many people have come? For the City of Alicante, These 2025 bonfires have been an absolute record of visitors, And it is estimated that The two million people will be exceeded During the big days, including June 24, to which the usual residents of the city, around 350,000 people.
These data, if confirmed, They would even exceed the official figures of València's latest failures, in which the City Council said they had come to enjoy the party approximately 1.5 million people. However, the lack of a clear methodology with which to estimate these figures and the absence of accommodative places and services for such a volume of attendees, makes experts distrust, that highlight the need for greater clarity when addressing balances and urgent forecast in public services.
“There are tools to know”
To Raquel Huete, Professor of Sociology of the University of Alicante, the problem with this type of estimates is generated when the method with which they have been calculated is not explained. “There are tools to know exactly, from water consumption to the positioning of mobile phones, which are already using cities like Benidorm, where they can know exactly how many people came a specific day.” In the specific case of Alicante, Huete believes that the figure of the two million “is far from reality” And that, if so, the town should have experienced a significant reinforcement of services such as transport, health centers or cleaning.
Along the same line, Tomás MazónProfessor of Tourism Sociology at the University of Alicante, considers “a barbarity” to estimate at two million the impact of visitors to the fires of Alicante. “A figure is not at all if it is not explained how so many tourists are, Where they spend, how they arrive … “, points out the expert, who also regrets having the feeling that” figures are said to weight and someone gives them good without asking the real capacity “of the city.” The fact is ridiculous, “he says.
Accommodation and parking lots
For his part, the director of the Chair of Tourism of Alicante, Juan Llopis Tavernersays that, despite the fact that the city does not have sufficient accommodation places for that volume, It should be taken into account that “many people come from nearby populations, So it does not stay to spend “, while others” know people in the city, friends or family, so they do not occupy hotels or apartments. “
In figures, The city provides (according to the latest municipal reports of the late 2024) of a total of almost 28,000 places accommodative: 19,000 in housing for tourist use, 7,164 in hotels, 675 in hostels and 918 in pensions.
With regard to parking, The eight public parking lots closest to the center have just over 3,000 squaresamong those of Maisonnave, San Cristóbal, Alfonso El Sabio, Station, Montañeta, Professor Soler, Marq and Plaza de América. In addition, between June 17 and 25, the rail connection with 25,000 seats has been reinforced.
