Brit holidaymakers were left gobsmacked as waves of protests hit Spanish hotspots like Barcelona and Tenerife, with over 8,000 Spaniards hitting the streets on Sunday to rage against soaring rents and tell officials: “We don’t need more tourists.”
In a new development to the recent anti-tourism demonstrations, yesterday’s action saw crowds swarm major tourist draws across the Canary Islands, including beaches where Brits soaking up the sun had to flee as fuming locals demanded things like a steeper tourist tax, or even a full-on “moratorium” on tourism.
Sun-worshipping tourists on Tenerife’s Playa de las Americas and Troya found their relaxing holidays disrupted by a massive, noisy march as protestors chanted “the Canary Islands have a limit,” and argued “more tourists, more misery.” Holidaymakers in other spots like Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, and El Hierro also witnessed street marches with similar gripes.
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El Mundo, a Spanish news outlet, reports that these anti-tourism protest groups, now over 20 strong, are rallying under the “Canary Islands have a limit” slogan, with signs pointing to even bigger, better-organised protests on the horizon. The Mail also notes that some protestors were spotted waving “Go Home Tourist” placards at beachgoers.
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The new anti-tourist group declared: “We will go to the tourist areas because that is where the injustice we are denouncing is taking place and because that is where we want to confront the system that is destroying our islands.”
Madrid recently witnessed anti-tourism demos bringing it to a standstill, prompting authorities to issue a Royal Decree aimed at reining in the 14,000 illicit Airbnbs peppering the capital. Despite the Spanish government’s efforts with a slew of measures post-pandemic to tackle issues arising from its booming popularity with holiday lovers, tensions remain high.
Alas, these steps haven’t calmed the furious locals in Spain’s hotspots. They find themselves ousted from neighbourhoods due to tourists snapping up properties including some of the 300,000 Brits who’ve flocked for the endless summer vibes. On the Canary Islands, foreigners now own one in three houses.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
The ‘Canary Islands have a limit’ group said: “While tourist areas prosper at the expense of our landscapes and resources, many local communities suffer the consequences: increased cost of living, loss of housing for residents, job insecurity and environmental deterioration.”
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