Canary Islands on hunger strike to protest insatiable overtourism

Residents say the Canary Islands are at breaking point from booming international tourism.

Residents of the Spanish Canary Islands have been calling for a 24-hour hunger strike to protest what they claim is an uncontrolled explosion of tourists.

The collection of seven islands, including Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria, have seen tourism increase rapidly over the past few decades.

Now, groups including Canarias Se Agota (The Canary Islands Sold Out) have suggested a hunger strike to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the state of overtourism. Some residents feel they have been priced out of their own islands with the arrival of hotels and holiday villas. Canaroas Se Agota says the islands are being starved of resources by international visitors.

The Canary Islands, a Spanish archipelago off the coast of northwestern Africa.

Following a call for a hunger strike on April 11, the group has been joined by another group, Canaria se Exhausts (The Canary Islands are Exhausted), which says it has a second islands-wide strike planned for April 20.

The particular targets of the protest are two hotels being constructed on Tenerife.

On Sunday, organisers said the call had inspired people throughout Spain, with the message of overtourism striking a chord as far as Catalonia and the Balearic Islands.

“The support of the people has been wonderful,” they said, adding that some colleagues had already been on a four-day fast while they waited to hear from the hotels’ owners or local officials.

“The inaction of the government of the Canary Islands is shameful.”

In the past decade the number of international arrivals has jumped by a fifth to more than 14 million visitors a year.

The two new buildings, Puertito de Adeje-Hotel La Tejita and Hotel Cuna del Alma, have become totemic to the issue after residents resorted to sleeping in cars and even caves due to soaring house prices.

Speaking to Euronews, protesters for Canarias Se Agota said the islands were at their limit.

‘Tourists Go Home’ slogans spread across the south of #Tenerife#Tourismophobia is becoming a bigger problem in all of the #CanaryIslands as residents see their standard of living dropping…https://t.co/VZT44u26OK pic.twitter.com/aah57AyJDF

— Canarian Weekly (@CanarianWeekly) March 4, 2024

“We have nothing against individual tourists, but the industry is growing and growing and using up so many resources, and the island cannot cope,” said protest organiser Ivan Cerdena Molina.

Molina said he and his partner struggled to afford their apartment and spent most of their shared €900 ($1620) monthly income on €800 of rent, even in a cheaper part of Santa Cruz.

“Airbnb and Booking.com are like a cancer that is consuming the island bit by bit,” he said.

Ecologists in Action recently warned that almost 800,000 people — over a third of the islands — are at risk of poverty. Pressures and pricing from mass tourism were a factor in this.

Along with organised protests scheduled for this week, some residents have taken matters into their own hands with “guerilla” measures.

Recently, visitors to the islands reported fake signage appearing at beaches and popular areas reading “closed due to overtourism”.

Some graffiti is far more to the point: Last month city officials had to remove the slogan “Tourist go home” painted on the waterfront barriers.