Tourists planning on travelling to the Canary Islands are being warned of a ‘crisis’ with locals set to march out in protests. The demonstrations could face travellers going to holiday favourites including Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and La Palma.
The demonstrations are currently scheduled to kick off on April 20, with fake ‘closed due to overtourism’ signs reportedly being put up in parts of Lanzarote, where environmentalists say the island is being ruined by its own success. “Lanzarote has a limit” is the motto of the call on this island and is carried out by anonymous citizens “who do not represent any group or political party”.
Tourists are often noisy and contribute to pollution by littering. What’s more, increasing demand for Airbnbs has driven up rent costs. Ivan Cerdeña Molina is helping to organise the protest as part of his role at local conservation group ATAN (Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Naturaleza).
He said: “It’s a crisis, we have to change things urgently, people are living in their cars and even in caves, and locals can’t eat, drink, or live well. Airbnb and Booking.com are like a cancer that is consuming the island bit by bit,”
Organisers claim that “the island is collapsing socially and environmentally” because it cannot cope with the volume of tourists that flock to its shores every year. They condemn tourist overcrowding and its consequences “but not the arrival of tourists in a controlled and sustainable way.”
Earlier this month the president of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, called for “common sense”, adding that tourism is the “main source of employment and wealth” for the local economy. He said that tourists “come to enjoy themselves, to spend a few days and to leave their money in the Canary Islands”. He also urged protesters to “be responsible in this action”, as UK tourists bring in millions every spring and summer.
He told reporters: “What we cannot do is attack our main source of employment and wealth, because that would be irresponsible,” adding that people should show “common sense and calm”. Meanwhile, Asociacion Tinerfena de Amigos de la Naturaleza (ATAN), a Gran Canaria urban development group, released a statement saying: “The situation is alarming.”
Tensions have amped up in recent months. In Tenerife, leaders called for calm amidst locals’ anger as the mass protests were first announced. Organisers say they’re not demonstrating against tourism or tourists, but against the saturation of the islands and the lack of measures to protect them from the growth of this industry that has a major impact on natural spaces and local resources.
Meanwhile, residents have increasingly urged for authorities to crackdown on tourism numbers, for example by demanding a tourism tax and stricter restrictions. There have been fears that the popular islands are on the brink of collapse as they struggle to cope with tourism numbers. In Palm-Mar, a small town on the southern side of the island, residents and visitors woke up to messages graffitied on walls which included urging tourists to ‘go home’ and adding that ‘my misery, your paradise’.
