Mass tourism remains a concern for residents of the areas most frequented by foreign travelers in our country. This weekend, hundreds of Canarians took to the streets to protest this situation.
The protests were picked up on Sunday by the British newspaper Daily Mail, which didn’t hesitate to draw attention to the issue with the headline “Holidays from Hell.”
According to the report, “terrified tourists stayed in their hotels” during the protests. The media quoted an Irish tourist who had rented an Airbnb:
“I didn’t go out today because of the protests; I’m stuck in my Airbnb to escape the crowds. I hope it doesn’t get violent, but I’m staying here for safety. I just hear the noise,” the tourist reported.
The article mentions that foreign tourists are being referred to as “guiris” during the protests. The term “guiri” is a Spanish slang term for British tourists, as well as tourists from other countries.
The Daily Mail also interviewed some of the protesters: “Spain has become the rearguard of Europe, and Tenerife has more tourists per year than Brazil. We have no more space,” said one of the protesters.
“We are not against individual tourists, but against those who break the rules, litter, pollute, and commit crimes,” added the same resident.
“We have closed the toilets on our beaches because they are contaminated with sewage. Since our historic protest last year, the government has done nothing. On the contrary, the number of arriving tourists has increased, and we don’t have enough space,” the tourist explained.
“The traffic is catastrophic when they are here; a 15-minute drive now takes an hour. The number of Airbnbs is far too high, and there are hardly any rental options left. This is a catastrophic situation for the island,” the protester concluded.
