They asked for the introduction of ecotax and regulation of property purchases by foreigners
More than 130,000 people protested in the streets of the eight Canary Islands, demanding to limit the mass tourism that is ruining their territory. Locals are demanding an end to the boom in short-term vacation rentals and hotel construction, which is seriously driving up housing costs, Western media reported.
Waving placards reading “People live here” and “We don’t want to see our island die”, demonstrators called for changes to the tourism industry, which according to Reuters accounts for 35% of the Canary Islands archipelago’s gross domestic product (GDP). and nearly 40% of employment. However, locals say they don’t feel like living any better with the ever-increasing number of outside visitors. On the contrary – in their opinion, the islands are getting polluted, the water is running out, and housing prices are skyrocketing.
“This is not a message against tourists, but against a model of tourism that does not benefit this land and must be changed,” protestors said during the march in the capital of the island. Tenerife, Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
According to them, a moratorium should be imposed on the construction of new hotel complexes and the issuing of tourist licenses to private properties in order to limit the mass tourism that is “ruining the islands”. “I miss the land I used to know”, “Where is the tourism money?” and “Save the youth from slavery” were just some of the posters that the protesters of Fr. Tenerife, where the biggest demonstrations were, wore. And later two giant puppets with the faces of the regional prime minister Fernando Clavijo and the president of the hotel employers’ association Jorge Marijal were added to them.
Smaller demonstrations were held elsewhere in the island group and in other Spanish cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Granada and Palma de Mallorca, as well as abroad in Berlin, London and Brussels. Canarians living outside the islands echoed the point that mass tourism is driving out the local population. All the marches were organized by environmental organizations ahead of the peak summer holiday season.
Environmentalists say local authorities should temporarily limit the number of visitors to ease pressure on the islands’ environment, infrastructure and housing stock and limit property purchases by foreigners.
“The authorities must immediately stop this corrupt and destructive model that is depleting resources and making the economy more precarious. The Canary Islands have limits and so does people’s patience,” said Antonio Bulon, one of the protest leaders.
