The oil spill on the north west coast of Spain has left many businesses, particularly fisherman, worried for their livelihoods, but the Galicia area's tourism industry has seen an unexpected boom.

Hotels and restaurants are reporting trading levels normally seen only during the summer months, thanks to the sudden influx of journalists, clean-up volunteers and tourists wanting to catch a glimpse of the slick on the beaches for themselves.

Rental car companies have hired out all their four-wheel drive vehicles to people wanting to get down to the affected beaches.

Whether this interest will last long enough to off-set potential long-term problems of the spill for the tourism industry remains to be seen.