Thousands of people protested in Tenerife on Saturday, demanding a temporary restriction on the arrival of tourists to the Spanish island to stop the boom in short-term vacation rentals and hotel construction, which is boosting housing construction. This was reported by Reuters, according to UNN.
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Holding placards reading "People live here" and "We don't want to see our island die," the demonstrators said that changes must be made to the tourism industry, which accounts for 35% of the Canary Islands' gross domestic product (GDP).
This rally is not against tourists, but against the tourist model, which does not benefit this land and needs to be changed
Smaller marches were held in other parts of the island group and other Spanish cities, all organized by about two dozen environmental organizations on the eve of the peak summer vacation season.
The organizations say that local authorities should temporarily limit the number of visitors to reduce pressure on the islands' environment, infrastructure, and housing stock, and restrict foreigners from buying real estate.
The authorities must immediately stop this corrupt and destructive model, which is draining resources and making the economy more unstable. The Canary Islands have limits and people's patience is also running out
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According to official data, almost 14 million foreign tourists visited the archipelago with a population of 2.2 million in 2023, up 13% year-on-year.
Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said on Friday that he was "proud" that the region is Spain's leading tourist destination, but acknowledged that additional controls are needed as the sector continues to grow.
We cannot ignore this. Otherwise, hotels will continue to open without any control