A British woman has spoken of how she is now “embarrassed” to come to the Canary Islands after visiting them since she was a teenager. Leanne Daley, 52, a Tesco manager from Pontefract, told the Express while relaxing with her partner, Matthew Booth, 49, an industrial gearbox engineer, in Jags Scottish Bar in Tenerife that the atmosphere has changed in recent years. She said: “I’ve been coming here since I was 18. It’s his first time, and I am a bit embarrassed.
“People here always made me feel so welcome, but not this time. The Canaries were far more welcoming than anywhere else. They are like family, even taking your address down and sending you Christmas cards.” She added: “I just feel this time, when we go into a lot of Spanish restaurants, they are a bit more hostile. Yesterday, a waiter threw my meal down on the table, no conversation. They’re not as welcoming.”
“Over the last few years, there’s definitely a change. I’ve been here a lot, and the Canaries always made you feel welcome. They knew you by name, and now just nothing.”
Mr Booth said that he had noticed a difference between Tenerife and the UK during his first time on the island.
He said: “I tell you what, I have noticed English bars and Irish bars feel like they want your trade and don’t want to give you any customer service.
“They’re not very interested. In England, they give you a bit more.”
The couple was speaking on the weekend that residents took to the streets across the Canaries, as well as places in mainland Spain, to protest against overtourism.
Matthew said: “That’ll make me not come again, then. That’s where money comes from, ain’t it? Tourism.”
On the table next to the couple, Jay, 49, a lorry driver from Ireland, who did not wish to provide his surname, said that his friend had messaged him before his holiday, telling him: “Don’t look English.”
But he added: “The locals have a point, as well. They’re being swarmed over here.
“They’re trying to get on with their daily stuff. It’s mental here, the way people are flying – there are flights every 10 minutes from all over the shop. I suppose it’s locals biting back.
“We’ve got the same sh** going on in Ireland.”
