Alicante is one of the fastest-growing cities in Spain. The local economy is based upon tourism directed to the beaches of the Costa Blanca and particularly the second residence construction boom which started in the 1960s and reinvigorated again by the late 1990s.Services and public administration also play a major role in the city's economy. The construction boom has raised many environmental concerns and both the local autonomous government and city council are under scrutiny by the European Union. The construction surge is the subject of hot debates among politicians and citizens alike. The latest of many public battles concerns the plans of the Port Authority of Alicante to construct an industrial estate on reclaimed land in front of the city's coastal strip, in breach of local, national and European regulations.
The city is the headquarters of the Office for Harmonization in the Internal Market and a sizeable population of European public workers lives here.
The campus of the University of Alicante is located in San Vicente del Raspeig, bordering the city of Alicante to the north. More than 27,000 students attend the University.
Since 2005 Alicante has been home to Ciudad de la Luz, one of the largest film studios in Europe. Spanish and international movies such as Asterix at the Olympic Games by Frédéric Forestier and Thomas Langmann, Manolete by Menno Meyjes have been shot there
