A new video, entitled “Christmas is Coming in the Canary Islands”, has been released online showing vandals slashing sunbeds on beaches in Los Cristianos in a video posted by Canarian Weekly.
The incident took place in the early hours of Thursday when over 230 sunbeds were destroyed, with damages estimated at 5,000 euros (£4,148).
Between 9pm and 6am, unidentified individuals wreaked havoc on two popular Tenerife beaches – damaging 100 sunbeds at Las Vistas and 136 at El Camison, according to Arona Council.
The vandals also spray-painted slogans such as “The Canaries are not for sale” on some loungers, leading to calls for increased security to find the perpetrators and stop it happening again.
The attack has drawn sharp criticism from local officials, including the mayor, Fátima Lemes, who described the actions as “an attack on the heritage of Arona” that harms both residents and visitors.
Braulio Melián Pérez, the manager of El Enyesque SL, the company managing beach services near Los Cristianos, expressed frustration over the absence of police patrols on the beaches overnight.
“We’ve been without beach police for two years,” he said, calling for immediate action.
Melián believes the attack was premeditated: “The perpetrators clearly knew the layout and the furniture. This wasn’t random; it was orchestrated,” he stated.
He noted that the vandals specifically avoided damaging umbrellas, which are more expensive than loungers, suggesting that their intention was more symbolic than economic.
With nearly 10% of the company’s 1,100 sunloungers destroyed, the damage has disrupted beach operations significantly.
Replacing the broken beds could take up to a month, as new supplies must be shipped from Barcelona.
For now, damaged loungers have been removed from prime positions and relegated to back rows.
“This is the largest attack we’ve faced in eight years,” Melián added, emphasizing that the vandalism impacts not only his business but also the local tourism industry.
“Nearly all the people who use these loungers are holidaymakers. This was a direct attack on them, and by extension, on the local economy.”
The incident has drawn widespread condemnation, including from overtourism protest groups. The environmental group, Salvar a la Tejita, which has led protests against unsustainable development in the region, denied any involvement.
“We condemn these acts entirely,” a spokesperson said, distancing the organisation from the vandalism. “Our methods are legal and media-focused, not destructive.”
Lemes stressed that such acts of vandalism are punishable by law and called on the public to assist in identifying those responsible: “The people of Arona are very conscious of protecting our environment, but unfortunately, there are always exceptions that threaten the common good, which is like attacking all of us,” she said.
