Canary Islands: Demos against mass tourism! Locals storm beaches

Tenerife (Spain) – Fly to the sunny Canary Islands in a relaxed manner on gray autumn days – that could soon be over. At least if the locals have their way. Because they’re fed up.

Thousands of them stormed and besieged popular beaches on the party islands of Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote on Sunday. “This Strand “Belongs to us,” they shouted, as tourists watched on beach towels and sun loungers – often just a few meters away from the angry crowd.

More than 10,000 demonstrators in the Canary Islands

According to local authorities, around 6,500 people took part in Tenerife Protest with the motto “The Canary Islands have a border”. There were 5,000 people in Gran Canaria and more than 1,500 people in Lanzarote.

Restriction of tourist numbers required

Residents also showed several posters with slogans such as “Die Canaries are not for sale” and “Enough is enough”. The demonstrators’ demands: The number of tourists and the number of holiday apartments should be limited.

On the islands off North Africa, which… Spain With their beautiful beaches and volcanic landscapes, a total of around 2.2 million people live there. Last year around 16 million tourists visited the Canary Islands. Many of the tourists come from Germany and Great Britain, but also from mainland Spain.

4 out of 10 locals work in tourism

In Spain the industry is all about Travel around 15 percent of economic output. In the Canary Islands it is a little less than 40 percent, in Mallorca it is even over 40 percent.

The demonstrators’ biggest concern: affordable housing. In the past decade, average monthly rents on the islands have doubled, said Víctor Martín, one of the organizers of protest marches this summer German wave. And: Every third apartment is now said to be a second home for a foreigner.