The situation in the Canary Islands is one that is now commonplace across much of southern Europe. The popular holiday archipelago, which includes islands like Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, is now suffering from increasing house and rental prices, overstretched public services and overcrowded towns and beaches as the number of holidaymakers continues to increase each year.
In 2024, the islands experienced a record-breaking year for the industry, with international arrivals topping one million for 14 consecutive months. In the first quarter alone, over 4.36 million descended on the islands. However, this success has brought with it growing frustration from locals, who are now taking to the streets in increasing numbers to protest the current tourism model and force political leaders to take action. In March this year, the whole archipelago received a record-breaking 1.55 million international arrivals, up 0.9% compared to the same month the previous year, despite widespread mass-tourism protests by residents.
In May, around 30,000 people took to the streets across the archipelago in a coordinated wave of protests which demanded urgent action to protect the region’s natural resources and improve housing and the quality of life for residents. Under the banner “Canarias tiene un límite” (“The Canary Islands Have a Limit”), demonstrators called for a more sustainable tourism model.
Then, in June, a new bout of protests was planned across Spain, including the Canary Islands, Majorca and Ibiza in the Balearics, and Barcelona, Valencia, and Bilbao on the mainland. The protests in Tenerife and Lanzarote focused specifically on addressing the impact tourism is having on housing and infrastructure.
In a new video posted by The Guardian, several locals who participated in a recent anti-tourism protest share their frustrations.
“We don’t want this unlimited growth rate,” said one man. “More construction, more population growth, more tourists.”
“People can’t access housing,” one lady said, while others placed the blame at the door of “corrupt” politicians who “fail to protect the environment”.
“The Canary Islands is not a paradise anymore,” another lady exclaimed. “Our coastline is s***. We can’t have 18 million tourists”.
In fact, it has been reported that even on Fuerteventura, one of the less popular islands, tourists now outnumber locals by 120 to one. The research, conducted by Which? Travel, places it among the most overcrowded destinations in Europe when looking at the number of visitors per resident.