Thousands of people have apshown part in protests agetst tourism in holiday resorts apass the Canary Islands.
There were simultaneous demonstrations in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and El Hierro on Sunday calling for a alter in the tourism model for the Spanish islands.
In the Playa de las Americas in Tenerife, a resort famous with British holidayproducers, protesters materializeed on the beach while tourists were sunbaskinnyg and chanted: “This beach is ours.”
At least 8,000 people took part in the protests under the slogan Canary Islands has a restrict, the Spanish rulement said.
Activists say local people are being priced out of the housing taget and the arrival of millions of visitors every year exhausts restricted authentic resources appreciate water and harms the environment.
The islands’ population was 2.2 million last year, but 9.9 million tourists visited between January and September, according to the Spanish National Statistics Institute – 10.3% more than in the same period in 2023.
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“We need a alter in the tourist model so it exits wealthyness here, a alter so it appreciates what this land has becaengage it is attrenergetic,” said Sara Lopez, 32, in Gran Canaria.
Spain’s economy relies on tourism but the country has seen a string of protests aget this year in Barcelona, and other famous holiday destinations appreciate Mallorca and Malaga.
Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Valencia on Saturday to call for more affordable housing, saying tourist flats push up prices.
The Canary Islands regional rulement produceed a law which is foreseeed to pass this year to stubbornen the rules on stupidinutive lets folloprosperg grumblets from locals priced out of the housing taget.
Newly built properties will be barred from the stupidinutive-let taget and property owners with a permit will have five years to adhere with needments that include granting neighbours the right to object to these permits.
The Canary Islands choosed to crack down on tourist rents after the number of personal raccesss exploded in recent years.