Locals in Tenerife have been voicing their anger in recent months at the effects overtourism has on their communities, environment and lives.
Several groups concerned about the rising cost of life, the impossibility of finding affordable accommodation and the strain placed by too many visitors on local beauties have joined forces and will march together on April 20 to push officials to regulate tourism.
These warnings on mass tourism, alongside the emergence of numerous graffiti telling visitors to “go home”, have prompted some Britons to consider boycotting the island and look for another destination for their summer holidays.
However, some locals stressed they have “nothing personal” against individual tourists. Rather, they want the ever-growing tourism industry on the island to become more aware of the damage it is doing to Tenerife.
Ivan Cerdeña Molina, a tech worker who is helping to organise the upcoming protest as part of his role at local conservation group ATAN, told the Olive Press news outlet: “We have nothing against individual tourists but the industry is growing and growing and using up so many resources and the island cannot cope.”
The tech worker noted some tourists who completely disregard locals and the environment with their rude behaviours are part of the problem. But, he suggested, it is tourism giants who are “consuming the island”.
He explained: “It’s a crisis, we have to change things urgently, people are living in their cars and even in caves, and locals can’t eat, drink or live well.
“Airbnb and Booking.com are like a cancer that is consuming the island bit by bit.
“The benefits of the industry are not trickling down to everyday people, whose salaries have not increased in years, the quality of life here is collapsing.”
Some locals have claimed to have been pushed out of their homes by landlords wanting to turn their properties into tourism rentals, while others simply can’t afford the costs of rent, pushed up by the tourists’ demand.
This difficult situation has pushed some, particularly in southern Tenerife, to move into shanty towns and live in tents, caravans or their cars.
Signalling it is aware of the discontent in Tenerife and the other Canary Islands, the Ministry of Tourism for the region approved in late March its new marketing plan for 2024, with a budget of £53.6million.
The plan set three key aims, including enhancing tourism’s ability to generate value and welfare for citizens, promoting increased commitment to climate neutrality, and contributing to improved resilience and competitiveness.
