People in Tenerife protest with placards during a demonstration against over-tourism(Image: Europa Press via Getty Images)

'I live and work in Tenerife and I was forced to completely change my life'

In addition to waiter Miguel de Abreu Freitas, others say they were made to move out of tourist lodging and say they have been priced out of permanent housing

by · The Mirror

A waiter in Tenerife says he has been 'forced to change his life' because of 'over-tourism'

Miguel de Abreu Freitas, is now living in 'tent village' despite being employed and living on the island for 18 years. The 63-year-old is among those working in the hospitality sector and has been forced into the makeshift settlement because of over-tourism in Tenerife.

Others also needed to move as their homes were made into tourist lodgings They claim it has resulted in them being priced out of permanent housing.

Oodie's Twin Pack deal allows shoppers to save £41 as the weather coolsDescribed as feeling like 'being wrapped in a cloud' an Oodie will keep you toasty without needing to crank up the thermostat.Brijiena Lovelace, 23 Sep 2024
Thousands of people demonstrated against Tenerife tourism policies in April this year( Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

The Manchester Evening News reports their grievances follow escalating tensions in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands as local people become more vocal about tourism's toll on their communities.

An exasperated Mr Freitas told the Telegraph: "I can't go back to work. You need to wear a clean, ironed shirt and where can I get myself clean? I have hit rock bottom; I get food from the bins outside the supermarket, I have given up hope."

His struggles mirror concerns elsewhere that local interests have been neglected as tourism profits take precedence.

Campaigners wanting to draw attention to the mounting crisis have organised protests, with marches with a reported 120,000 people seen in the islands' major towns earlier in the year.

Tourism policy in the Canary Islands, people say, has left little room for the local population( Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

But because of local government's lack of action, environmental protest group ATAN says it plans to hit the streets again later in the year as a reminder for authorities to support the local population.

ATAN released a statement saying: "Nothing has changed. On the contrary, they have deepened their overdevelopment-focused and predatory model of the territory, which they have perpetuated for decades.

"We will take to the streets in the very heart of this overdevelopment model: the tourist areas. In the meantime, we urge people to continue fighting from every corner of the islands against this unjust model that is destroying our lives and our territory.

"Let us once again set an example and reclaim what is ours, with strength and dignity: the Canary Islands have a limit, and it continues to be disrespected."

It is difficult to find a place to rent or buy a house in Tenerife because the oversupply of tourist rentals( Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

In other Spanish islands popular with visitors protests have been held about 'over-tourism' and its impact on local communities.

The Mirror reported last month how the anti-tourism heat in Majorca has been turned up a little with the appearance of violently worded graffiti. A wall in the Spanish holiday town was daubed with the words 'kill a tourist' .

According to the Majorca Daily Bulletin, Maria Antònia Sansó from the centre-right Partido Popular party of Manacor, was among a large number of politicians who were quick to distance themselves from the sentiment.

She said: "This graffiti does not represent, in any case, the majority feeling of the residents of Manacor."

The councillor insisted that tourists are welcome, and will continue to be welcomed in the Majorcan town. Maria also acknowledged the growing social unrest in relation to 'over-tourism', but denounced this particular graffiti as "totally unjustified".