Spanish holiday hotspots are currently facing a wave of unrest as locals take to the streets to vent their frustrations over rocketing rents and intense tourist influx. On Sunday, a hefty crowd of more than 8,000 demonstrators marched through streets across destinations like Barcelona and Tenerife crying out: “We don’t need more tourists.”
The recent wave of protest saw prominent tourist attractions in the Canaries become focal points for the dissenters, particularly where beachgoers found themselves caught off guard. In Tenerife, throngs of protesters on beaches such as Playa de las Americas and Troya made their point loud and clear midday with chants bolstering their motto “The Canary Islands have a limit” whilst they denounced the impact of tourism with “more tourists, more misery.”
Echoes of these sentiments were heard in other locations including Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, La Palma, and El Hierro, as locals clamoured for increased measures to handle the constant stream of visitors, reports the Manchester Evening News. El Mundo, a Spanish outlet, reports that over 20 anti-tourism organisations have banded together under the collective cry “The Canary Islands have a limit,” and are organising for further protests.
Meanwhile, the Mail has reported protestors brandishing placards insisting “Go Home Tourist” aimed at those soaking up the sun. An anti-tourist faction has surfaced in Spain, expressing vehement disapproval of the rising number of visitors and claiming: “We will go to the tourist areas because that is where the injustice we are denouncing is taking place and because that is where we want to confront the system that is destroying our islands.”
Despite various strategies deployed by Spanish officials to manage the impacts of increasing tourism – a trend which has intensified since the end of the pandemic – discontent among the residents remains. Just last week, protests led by anti-tourism activists wreaked havoc in Madrid, leading to the rapid introduction of a Royal Decree aimed at regulating over 14,000 illicit Airbnb listings and similar holiday accommodations.
However, locals’ frustration still simmers, particularly in popular destinations where they face economic displacement due to proliferating real estate purchases by foreigners. This includes around 300,000 Britons attracted by the country’s sun-soaked coasts. In the Canary Islands alone, one in three homes is being snapped up by non-Spaniards.
The ‘Canary Islands have a limit’ group underscored their message, saying: “While tourist areas prosper at the expense of our landscapes and resources, many local communities suffer the consequences: increased cost of living, loss of housing for residents, job insecurity and environmental deterioration.”