Spain anti-tourism protests erupt in Canary Islands ahead of October half term as Brits told 'go home'
Sunbathing Brits were told 'the Canary Islands are not a theme park' as thousands of protesters marched on the beaches of Tenerife on Sunday
by Catherine Addison-Swan, William Morgan · ChronicleLiveA huge wave of fresh protests took place in Spain over the weekend as locals continued to express their anger over the impact of over-tourism on the country.
Thousands of people took to the streets and beaches across the Canary Islands with signs demanding that holidaymakers "go home" and chanting "more tourists, more misery" on Sunday, October 20. The islands, including Tenerife, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, are a popular destination with Brits in the autumn and winter months due to their warm temperatures, with tourist hotspots expected to see an influx of visitors over October half term.
The crowd of more than 8,000 protesters marched on the Playa de las Americas and Troya beaches in Tenerife, where many sunbathers were forced to leave as the disgruntled locals surrounded sun loungers and told tourists: "The Canary Islands have a limit". Further protests also took place at busy beaches and shopping centres on the other islands, with more anticipated as anti-tourism groups from across Spain join forces, The Mirror reports.
The newly formed group of protesters said in a statement on Sunday: "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."
Locals in Spain's holiday hotspots have long shared their frustration with the impact mass tourism is having on their home, leading to soaring living costs, unaffordable housing, and putting immense pressure on local services. The Canary Islands are particularly impacted, with one in three houses on the islands now owned by non-Spaniards.
The 'Canary Islands have a limit' campaigners stated: "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."
Between January and September, 9.9 million tourists visited the Canary Islands, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute - 10.3% more than in the same period in 2023 - while the islands' population stood at just 2.2 million last year. Similar protests have taken place this year across mainland Spain, including in Barcelona and Malaga, as well as on the Balearic Islands, another destination hugely popular with Brits.
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