“The Canary Islands have a limit”: tens of thousands of people protest against mass tourism that they say overwhelms the islands

Tens of thousands of people in the Canary Islands, in Spaindemonstrated on Saturday against a model of mass tourism that, they say, is dominating the Atlantic archipelago.

The protests, considered historic by the Spanish press, took place on the seven islands that make up the region.

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Protesters want to limit the number of tourists and stop what they describe as uncontrolled tourist development that is harmful to the environment and residents.

They report that this model has led to an increase in short-term rentals and the construction of hotels that increase the cost of housing for residents.

But they make it clear They are not against the tourism sectorwhich represents 35% of the Canary Islands economy.

“It is not a message against tourists, but against a tourism model that does not benefit this land and that must be changed,” one of the protesters told the Reuters news agency during the march in the capital of Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

Protesters walk along an avenue with a banner that says: Canary Islands are sold out. (EUROPA PRESS CANARIAS VIA GETTY IMAGES).

EUROPA PRESS CANARY ISLANDS VIA GETTY IMAGES.

In 2023, 13.9 million tourists visited the main islands.

This is approximately six times more than the population of the islands 2.2 million, according to official data.

The tourism industry also represents 40% of the archipelago’s jobs.

The islands’ biggest markets are visitors from the UK and Germany, although they are also a popular destination with mainland Spaniards.

Tourists are attracted by the beaches of the Canary Islands and the year-round sunshine.

RUTE CORUJO.

In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, capital of the largest island, Tenerife, protesters held signs reading “Tourist, respect my land!” and “The Canary Islands have a limit”.

Other banners read: “This is not a drought, this is looting.” “Tourism increases my income”.

EUROPA PRESS CANARY ISLANDS VIA GETTY IMAGES.

ANDRES GUTIERREZ/ANADOLU VIA GETTY IMAGES.

“The biggest problem is that the mass tourism model has been intransigent on the island… [durante] decades, and it is destroying the city and also the lives of the residents here,” one of the protesters, Lydia Morales, told the BBC.

“We feel like they are leaving us aside, that our priorities are not taken into account“, he stated, adding that politicians are “more focused” on the construction of tourist complexes and hotels.

Street protests also took place on Saturday in some parts of mainland Spain.

Protesters say they want a sustainable model that takes environmental impacts into account, as well as water scarcity in a hotter climate, and that puts less pressure on living and housing costs.

Protesters in the streets with banners and flags. A banner says: Stop the hotels. (EUROPA PRESS CANARIAS VIA GETTY IMAGES).

DESIREE MARTIN/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES.

In 2023, the 34% of the Canary Islands were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, the second highest figure in Spain after Andalusia, according to the European country’s National Statistics Institute (INE).

Last week, activists began a hunger strike in Tenerife, protesting what they consider to be the destructive growth of tourism in the Canary Islands.

Protesters demand the suspension of construction of a hotel and beach resort in the south of the island.

They also want a moratorium on all tourism development projects.

Source: Elcomercio