As the summer draws closer, holidaymakers from Edinburgh and the rest of the UK will be heading to warmer countries including Spain to catch some rays.
However, the Spanish have developed a nickname for British tourists, and it isnt' exactly a compliment, reports the Mirror.
Those who have visited Spain recently may have heard the word 'guiri' within earshot as they are walking by.
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Pronounced ‘guee-ree’, the term is typically aimed at or used to describe not just British tourists, but any who fall under certain categories.
These categories include tourists who enjoy a good drink, and enjoying themselves without always being aware of their surroundings.
Due to the fact that five million British people visit Spain each year, more than any other country, it's no surprise that this phrase is aimed at them a lot more. In fact, some UK tourists actions have even inspired debates in Spanish regional parliaments.
Depending on what origin story people believe in, contributes to how offensive the word can be for people. According to many, a 'guiri' derives from the Basque word of 'giri', which means ‘blonde’ or ‘fair-skinned'.
Some argue it goes back further than that and is a Hindi word used by the Indian diaspora to describe white people. In today's world in Spain, a 'guiri' refers to a white person who is paler than the native Spaniard.
It is also used to encompass some of the qualities of such people, which is where the link to the other origin story comes in.
According to the Real Academia Dictionary, the word goes as far back as to the Carlist Wars of the mid 19th century when Basque speakers called their enemies 'guiristino'. This was after the regent Queen María Cristina.
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A journalist who spends a lot of their time in Spain, Leah Pattem, argues that the word should be taken as offensive to tourists.
Leah writes: "A guiri is also categorised as naïve and/or ignorant, trapped in their own culture due to refusal or inability to integrate.
"They will dress wrong, be sunburnt and generally look hot and bothered.
"Most Spaniards will argue that the word guiri is not offensive, but it undeniably makes sweeping assumptions about a person based on either their appearance, their nationality, or their behaviour."
This news comes as many holiday hotspots in Spain are trying to cut down on the number of tourists, or 'guiri', that are visiting the country.
Lanzarote chiefs are hoping to declare the island as "saturated", and will aim for a tourist decline in order to "guarantee the future of generations to come."
Part of their new strategy will be to become less dependent on British visiting numbers, who currently account for more than half of holiday numbers.
Lanzarote has a population of just over 151,000 people, and received 2.5 million tourists until November 2022 - 17 times more than its normal inhabitants.
Now, the Island Council has advanced the idea of declaring itself a "tourist-saturated area" and claims that the idea enjoys "a broad social consensus".
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