Lanzarote and Tenerife hotel data shows significant rise in visitors despite £116 charge

Tourism protests in the Canary Islands appear to have backfired as a significant rise in hotel stays was recorded in August compared to the same month last year

Despite local protests and demonstrations against mass tourism in the Canary Islands, hotel stays in the popular European Union holiday destination have seen a significant increase. According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE), overnight stays in August rose by 5.7% compared to the same month last year, totalling 6,903,674.

This marks the twelfth consecutive month of growth and represents the third-highest number of overnight stays for August in the region's recorded history.

The rise comes amidst ongoing protests in the Canary Islands, including Tenerife and Lanzarote, where locals are demanding an immediate halt to the construction of more hotel accommodations. In April, as many as 120,000 people took to the streets of Tenerife to call for limits on the impact of holidaymakers on the Spanish archipelago.

Read more: I went to Costco and can't understand why everyone was buying the same thing

See our top stories and avoid ads by downloading our app to your phone or tablet

Demonstrations continued throughout June, July, August and September. However, the number of tourists staying in hotels across the Canary Islands grew by 3.21 per cent in August, with a total of 1,005,065 visitors. Of these, 703,149 (69.96 per cent) were international tourists.

The average daily rate for a hotel room in the Canary Islands has also risen to €139.29 (£116), marking an 8.2 per cent year-on-year increase.

Hotel prices in the region saw a 5.93 per cent rise compared to last year, with hotel occupancy hitting 81.19 per cent in August and the sector's employment figures reaching 57,818 a 7.3 per cent increase from the previous year.

The Canary Islands came in second for occupancy rates across Spain at 81.19 per cent, just behind the Balearic Islands at 89.9 per cent but ahead of Catalonia's 80.15 per cent. Amidst the demonstrations, locals were seen with banners proclaiming messages like "Tourism is killing the Canary Islands".

Residents expressed concerns that the surge of tourists was compromising their safety and diluting their indigenous culture.