More than one person decided last February that this summer they would spend it in the isolated and gloomy moors of Yorkshire, in northern England. Not to take refuge in a place with less stifling temperatures, but because they were stunned after seeing Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi act in those settings in the latest audiovisual adaptation of Wuthering Heights, directed by Emerald Fennell. The film unleashed Brontëmania and caused, on the one hand, a 504% surge in novel sales in just two days, according to data provided by Amazon; and, on the other hand, hotels and tourist apartments in the area noticed a significant increase in occupancy.
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Mia Ferullo, head of digital engagement at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, located in Haworth (England) and preserving the old family home as well as the world’s largest collection of manuscripts by sisters Emily, Charlotte, and Anne, admits to La Vanguardia that there is “a renewed boom” in the life and work of this literary trio. She also introduces a term: readaways, or, in other words, vacation getaways that one embarks on after reading a book and where often the main activity, besides disconnecting, is reading. A trend that is growing, according to a report published early this summer by the flight search platform Skyscanner, which reveals that 49% of people who have booked a trip this year have at some point considered doing so because of a book. The study also reveals that hotel bookings using the “library” filter on its website have increased by 70% worldwide.
In this context, which seems to be growing thanks, among other things, to the prescriptive phenomenon on social networks BookTok, it is not surprising that more and more tourist complexes fill their shelves with fiction and promote themselves as suitable places for reading retreats. Miguel Ángel Cayuela, an avid reader since childhood, noticed the growing interest in literary travel some time ago, so he decided to open Remanso, dedicated precisely to reading retreats, many of which take place in these hotels or in some quiet farmhouse. Every so often he gathers a group of readers who read an author’s work together. In the three years of the company’s existence, they have already organized 22 getaways and around 500 readers have joined their community, “with a 30% repeat rate,” which shows that traveling readers are very loyal.
Most of the time, the author accompanies them, as will soon be the case with Gabriela Jauregui along with a group traveling to the Mexican town of Puruagua, in Guanajuato, following the publication of Zorra (Lava); or Jacobo Bergareche, “who will lead a reading retreat for healthcare professionals in Estellencs, Mallorca, in autumn, taking advantage of the release of his new book, Tío Grande (Libros del Asteroide).”
49% of those who have booked a trip this year have considered doing so because of a book
Spain is therefore not exempt from this wave of literary tourism, and this should not be a surprise, especially considering that leisure reading continues to grow in the country, as 66.2% of the population reads books in their free time, according to data from the latest Barometer of reading and book buying habits in Spain. More and more people are encouraged to follow in the footsteps of Don Quixote and discover the Oviedo of La Regenta, among many others.
Then there are newly created routes following more recent literary phenomena, such as The Peninsula of Empty Houses (Siruela), by David Uclés, which has turned Quesada (in the novel, Jándula) into a new territory to consider for lovers of literature. Catalina Moral, head of the tourism office, explains by phone to this newspaper “the notable increase in visitors that the town has noticed in the last two years” and explains that, faced with this rise, they began to ask more frequently the reason that brought travelers to Quesada. “Daily, at least five people confess to us that they come because of David.”
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Barcelona, as a UNESCO City of Literature since 2015, continues to be a reference for this type of tourism, with Sant Jordi being one of the key events attracting more and more international visitors. Many then include routes such as La plaça del Diamant, The Cathedral of the Sea, or The Shadow of the Wind in their itinerary. Although the latter has been offered for years, 2026 gains renewed interest as it marks 25 years since its publication. Anniversaries are also a good excuse to start a journey. Another highlight this year is the 90th anniversary of the execution of Federico García Lorca. Following this anniversary, the town hall of Fuente Vaqueros, where the poet was born and spent his early years, admits that “guided visits have tripled,” as a higher demand was expected, despite it already usually being high.
Meanwhile, the English Riviera is also preparing to receive more tourists than usual in September due to another death, that of Agatha Christie, whose 50th anniversary will be commemorated in 2026 and is expected to be honored at the Agatha Christie Festival, held from the 12th to the 20th of that month in Torquay, where the Queen of Crime was born. “Last year we sold around 9,000 tickets and this year attendance will be even higher, with visitors from 32 different countries. Besides the anniversary of her death, there are other events this year attracting the public, such as the centenary of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which we celebrate with a special day, and the 50th anniversary of the publication of the last Miss Marple novel, Sleeping Murder,” Matt Newbury, the festival organizer, responds by phone.
Espido Freire, the writer, usually talks about Christie when organizing the expedition that follows the steps of King Arthur. The writer has been organizing literary trips since 2016 and confesses that the first one she did was precisely the one that seems most fashionable this summer, that of the Brontë sisters. “There have been many destinations over the years, including Bloomsday in June, in Ireland; or following the steps of Karen Blixen, author of Out of Africa, in Kenya; as well as trips related to my own work,” specifies the author, who does not forget another of her most popular routes, that of Jane Austen.
From the museum dedicated to the British novelist in Bath, its director, Paul Crossey, recalls the “growing” eagerness to delve into the author’s world. He mentions the Jane Austen Festival, the largest and oldest dedicated to the author, which attracts readers from all over the world, many of them dressed in Regency-era clothing, demonstrating a fervor that transcends literature.
