On April 20th, more than 57,000 local citizens and 20 local organizations joined an island-wide protest in the Canary Islands to demand attention to the issue of mass tourism.
The Canary Islands is an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean and off the coast of northwest Africa. Tourism accounts for as much as 35% of the island’s national GDP, making it the third-most attractive tourist location in Spain.
Normally, tourism is an integral part of many nations’ economies and helps spur economic growth. However, in recent years, the exponential growth of the tourism industry in the Canary Islands has put tremendous stress on local residents.
As a result, the people of the Canary Islands have taken to the streets to spread awareness of this pressing concern.
Over-Tourism & Related Issues
The main issue faced by the people of the Canary Islands is the emergence of mass tourism.
Although tourism is beneficial, mass tourism can lead to an unprecedented amount of stress on the local population. For a local population of only 2.2 million people, the Canary Islands had a record-breaking 13.9 million tourists in 2023, growing 13% compared to the previous year.
Over-tourism has led to many issues in the region’s infrastructure, environment, employment, and poverty.
As tourism becomes the region’s main economic model, much of the Canary Islands’ infrastructure has been dedicated to accommodating tourists. This has led to an unexpected growth in the prices of the rental market, raising property costs, taxes, and homelessness rates.
The demand from tourists has also increased privatization in the Canary Islands, decreasing available public housing and employee wages. As such, these lower wages cannot cover the basic living expenses for many residents, causing poverty rates and dependence on social welfare to increase.
The emphasis on tourism has also led to environmental degradation in the Canary Islands as winters become drier and water resources diminish. The surge in annual temperatures, as high as 36 degrees Celsius, has also intensified many daily issues residents face. The environmental degradation has even placed stress on the region’s natural resources. As a result, over-tourism has heavily impacted the way of life for many residents in the Canary Islands.
Proposed Solutions
Despite the issues plaguing the Canary Islands, thousands of local protestors have called to attention several solutions that could resolve the ongoing over-tourism problem.
Firstly, many protests have called for the Spanish Government to impose an eco-tax to help maintain the precious ecosystems of the Canary Islands. As local resources are preserved, both the Canaries’ economy and way of life will drastically improve.
Moreover, protesters have also called for limiting the number of tourists who visit the islands. These changes can decrease property prices, increase wages, and decrease privatization. By promoting these sustainable tourism strategies, the Canary Islands can increase its economic viability and avoid the effects of over-tourism.
Sources: Guardian, Al Jazeera, Skift, Statista
