The news about the concerns of residents of Tenerife has become an alarming signal for tourists who often choose this sunny island for their vacation. According to reports, protests against excessive tourism resulted in slogans with the inscription “tourists, go home” and the desire to drive away guests.
According to the Daily Star, the anger of residents is caused by the increase in the number of visitors, which has led to traffic jams, sewage spills, and environmental damage.
Protesters took to the streets with placards and demanded measures against mass tourism to the island. The slogans “The Canary Islands are no longer a paradise” and “The Canary Islands are not for sale” became the main ones in the demonstrations. Recently, hotels have been actively being built in Tenerife. This inevitably leads to the destruction of nature and the deterioration of the housing situation for residents.
In response to the problem, islanders are proposing restrictions on travelers, including an environmental tax and a ban on buying second homes. It was also emphasized that tourists and non-residents who buy houses on the island have a bad effect on pricing. Due to high demand, locals cannot afford to rent/buy real estate. We will remind you that the situation was similar last year and this year in southern Turkey, where tourists flocked en masse.
However, the tendency to put barriers against the influx of tourists is not only in Tenerife. Other tourist destinations such as Amsterdam, Barcelona, Mallorca, and Trentino-Alto Adige are also taking steps to limit the number of travelers and regulate tourism infrastructure.