Thousands of people demonstrated in holiday destinations in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday against tourism, which they claim drives locals out of the property market.
Residents demonstrated simultaneously in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and El Hierro under the motto "Canary Islands has a limit," calling for a change in the islands' tourism paradigm, as reported by agency Reuters.
They continued in many of the country’s most popular tourist destinations, such as the Balearic Islands, the Mediterranean city of Alicante, cities on the southern coast, and Barcelona, where some protesters squirted foreign visitors with water pistols and shouted: “Tourists go home!”.
“Tourism, which for a few is the golden goose, is an economic model which is choking the rest of us,” said Bizilagunekin (or “with the neighbours”, in the Basque language), the civic association which is organising Sunday’s demonstration in San Sebastian, according to BBC.
The protest is the culmination of a series of debates, talks, and other events in the city called “October against Touristification”.
Protesters appeared on Tenerife's Playa de las Americas beach as tourists were sunbathing and screamed, "This beach is ours."
Activists alleged that millions of visitors every year drain limited natural resources such as water and harm the environment. The Spanish government reported that at least 8,000 persons took part.
According to the Spanish National Statistics Institute, 9.9 million tourists visited the Canary Islands between January and September, representing a 10.3% increase from the same period in 2023. The islands had a population of 2.2 million last year.
"We need a change in the tourist model so it leaves richness here, a change so it values what this land has because it is beautiful," Sara Lopez, 32, told Reuters in Gran Canaria on Sunday.
This year, Tourism-dependent Spain has seen a series of anti-tourism rallies in Barcelona, as well as other famous holiday locations such as Mallorca and Malaga, agency Reuters stated.
The Canary Islands regional administration prepared a regulation that is anticipated to pass this year to toughen the rules on short lets in response to protests from locals priced out of the housing market.
Newly built properties will be prohibited from the short-term rental market, and property owners who have permission will have five years to comply with conditions such as giving neighbours the ability to object to these permits.
After the number of private renters increased dramatically in recent years, the Canary Islands opted to tighten restrictions on tourist rentals.
On Saturday, hundreds of protestors took to the streets of Valencia to demand more affordable housing, claiming that tourist flats drive up costs.
(With inputs from the agency)
