Tens of thousands march on Tenerife in tourism protest

Protesters poured onto the streets of Tenerife over concerns "every nook and cranny" of the Canary Islands has been taken by tourism. At least 50,000 people took part in a demonstration yesterday (April 20) in Tenerife's capital, Santa Cruz.

Locals say they are being priced out of life on the island, with "unsustainable" levels of tourism driving up living costs and harming the environment. Campaigners want to see a temporary limit to the number of tourists visiting Tenerife, the Mirror reports.

A large police presence watched on as the protest took place peacefully. The phrase CanariasTieneUneLimit - meaning 'the Canary Islands have a limit' - was seen on many placards.

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Clips of thousands of protestors chanting "si vivimos del turismo por que no somos ricos?" (if we are living from tourism then why are we not rich?) were also shared online. Tenerife is one of the most popular destinations in Spain for tourists with more than 5.8million foreign and domestic visitors heading to the island in 2022.

Overall, the Canary Islands, which has a population of about 2.2 million, welcomed more than 12 million visitors in 2022. According to research by the Spanish financial services company CaixaBank, the Canary Islands is highly dependent on the tourism industry.

It added in 2023 foreign tourists spent more than £17.4 billion in the region, which accounted for about 19 per cent of their total spending throughout Spain and contributed some 25 per cent to the Canary Islands' GDP. But some locals say tourism has had a negative effect on the island's environment and sent housing costs spiralling out of control.

Locals involved in