STORY: Holding placards that read “People live here” and “We don’t want to see our islands die,” protesters lost 35% of the Canary Islands’ gross domestic product (GDP). He stated that the island’s tourism industry, which accounts for 30% of the total, must undergo a transformation.
“We can’t deal with all this. It’s too much, too much for such a small island,” protester Sara Ines Marrero said of the mass tourism model. “We are also fighting for decent housing so that we can just live on our own land and not have to pay excessively high rents,” she added.
The groups say local authorities should temporarily limit visitor numbers and curb property purchases by foreigners to reduce pressure on the island’s environment, infrastructure and housing stock.
The demonstrators included six hunger strikers, who attended the rally in wheelchairs.
The La Laguna-based group opposes a hotel project on the beach of La Tejita in the south of Tenerife. Saturday was the 10th day of the hunger strike.
Island authorities are concerned about the impact on local residents. Legislation to tighten rules on short sales is expected to be passed this year after complaints from residents whose homes were priced out of the market.
According to official data, foreign tourists to the Canary Islands, an archipelago of 2.2 million people, will reach 13.9 million in 2023, an increase of 13.1% from 2022.
