Latest News

Thousands protest in Spain's Canary Islands versus over tourism

storyp1> GRAN CANARIA, Spain, Oct 20 (Reuters) Thousands of people opposed in vacation resorts in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday against over tourism which they say rates regional individuals out of the real estate market.

Under the motto Canary Islands has a limit, residents demonstrated concurrently in Gran Canaria, Tenerife, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and El Hierro and called for a change in the tourism design for the islands.

In the Playa de las Americas in Tenerife, protesters appeared on the beach while travelers were sunbathing and chanted This beach is ours.

Activists claimed the arrival of countless visitors every year diminishes restricted natural resources like water and damages the environment. A minimum of 8,000 individuals took part, the Spanish government stated.

In Between January and September, 9.9 million tourists visited the Canary Islands, according to the Spanish National Stats Institute, 10.3% more than in the same period in 2023. The islands' population was 2.2 million in 2015.

We require a modification in the traveler model so it leaves richness here, a change so it values what this land has since it is stunning, Sara Lopez, 32, informed Reuters in Gran Canaria on Sunday.

Tourism-dependent Spain has seen a series of demonstrations against over tourism this year in Barcelona, and other popular vacation destinations like Mallorca and Malaga.

The Canary Islands local federal government drafted a law which is anticipated to pass this year to strengthen the guidelines on brief lets following complaints from residents evaluated of the real estate market.

Recently constructed residential or commercial properties will be barred from the short-let market and homeowner with an authorization will have 5 years to comply with requirements that consist of granting neighbours the right to challenge these authorizations.

The Canary Islands decided to crack down on traveler leas after the variety of personal occupants took off in the last few years.

On Saturday, numerous protesters required to the streets of Valencia to require more affordable housing, stating tourist flats rise rates.


(source: Reuters)