Regular British holidaymakers are being forced to abandon their winter getaways to the Canary Islands because of European Union rules and the cost of flights.
Tensions between foreign residents and the locals in Tenerife have been running high in the past few months. A group of activists has been on hunger strike, while a huge 120,000-strong protest in the capital of Santa Cruz on Saturday attracted international attention.
But according to Lisa Robertson the manager of Jags Bar, a Scottish pub in Playa de las Americas, an exodus of Brits who split their time between the UK and Spain is already occurring.
Lisa explained that new regulations introduced post-Brexit mean UK citizens must leave the country after 90 days in Spain. As a consequence those with second homes need to travel more frequently between the two countries, a financial burden many have found too hard to bear.
“I know at least four people who have sold their houses over here because they can’t come out as much as they used to be able to,” Lisa, who has lived in Tenerife for nearly 14 years, told the Express.
“There’s one couple in particular who used to do eight months [in the Canaries] and then six months in Scotland. But because they can only stay for 90 days they just sold their holiday home.”
Serving popular Scottish lager Tennent’s on tap and with horse racing from Ayr on the television, Jags Bar provides families visiting from Glasgow or Aberdeen home comforts with blistering sunshine.
However, Lisa said the community of Scots who’ve long flocked to this popular drinking spot has diminished significantly and the atmosphere was no longer what it was.
“I knew a lot of people who would come [to Tenerife] for months at a time and be here every night. I haven’t seen them [since the rules changed]. There are lots of people like that. It’s quite hard,” she added.
“It’s also affected staffing as well. If you speak to any British bar on the island they are screaming for staff.”
Visiting Tenerife’s many British pubs a distinctly older demographic can be seen pulling pints because venues require those who already have citizenship or the legal right to work in Spain pre-Brexit.
“The younger ones can only come for three months and three months only,” Lisa explained. “I can’t take them on.”
Lisa also revealed that the island’s spiralling rental prices, which are one of the major complaints from protesters, had hit Brits living in Tenerife severely too.
“I know families of four who’ve moved to one-bedroom flats because it’s cheaper,” she added.
“They’ve been in places for years, but the landlords have put the rent up so much they can’t afford it.”
