The noise was almost deafening as thousands of people – organisers reckoned around 100,000 – gathered in Plaza Weyler in Tenerife’s capital, waiting to march against overtourism. Shouts, whistles, conches and drums echoed through the streets of Santa Cruz as locals aimed to send a message to those who holiday on the Spanish island, including Brits.
Some of the most hardline signs read “get the f*** outta here” and “tourist go home”. But some were rather more conciliatory, exposing perhaps a split in residents’ attitudes. One placard featured Hermione Granger from Harry Potter saying “it’s survival not tourismphobia”, a play on the witch’s famous correction of Ron Weasley’s pronunciation of a spell. Carla Henriquez, 38, a surfer and photographer, who came back to Tenerife after working in the Australian tourism industry, which she says protects the environment better, made sure to emphasise that the island would welcome Britons back, once her home island had sorted itself out.
Amongst the throng was a striking effigy of the leader of the President of the Tenerife Island Council, Rosa Dávila Mamely, who activists call a trolera, which loosely translates as “fibber”. The movement looks to encompass a variety of causes, as Palestine and Communist Party flags were raised.
When the huge walking wall of discontent got going, ensuring their grievances, chiefly a lack of housing for locals, low wages and ecological damage (like sewage being released into the sea, an issue familiar to us in the UK) were heard, the atmosphere was angry but joyful. Excited protesters hugged and kissed one another, seemingly congratulating each other for turning up and making their point.
Even though I was not technically a tourist, being from Blightly I did not feel what one would call comfortable. I however was in awe of the sheer number of people turning up, and the very visceral passion they clearly had for their home. The shoal of frustrated Canarians looked never-ending. Brits who visit Tenerife should probably be worried by the number of attendees and vehement passion on display, and may want to at least reflect on the campaigners’ message before booking their next flight.
The protest was striking, but signs that people are thinking twice about taking a trip to Tenerife are thin on the ground. Looking on at the march were Victor Gardarsson, 21, a fast food worker and Alex Gardarsson, 22, who works with people with special needs, from Akureyri in Iceland. They are on the island for a seven-day-long family holiday. Victor said: “I think it’s a little bit too far. You need a little bit of tourism to grow your country. We come here and we bring money to them. You’d think in a way we’re helping them.” Alex laughed at one of the explicit messages being branded about.
German tourists from the Rhineland, boyfriend and girlfriend Jonas, 23, and Katharina, 21, are visiting Tenerife for the first time, and would come back, despite witnessing the fury of locals. Jonas told me: “It’s very difficult to describe. It’s very loud. We agree with this [what the protest is about]. Tenerife is very nice. The Canary Islands, we love them.” There’s talk of a tourist tax to try and deter as many people from coming to the Spanish archipelago, but it may take more than that to get the deeply rooted numbers down.
