MOST countries in the world spent millions, or even billions, to promote tourism in exchange for revenues and other economic benefits. But in the popular holiday destination of the Canary Islands, the story is different.
For days, the Spanish autonomous community in the Atlantic Ocean made international headlines for holding mass protests against tourism and demanding that the government limit the number of tourists on the island.
Activists also initiated a hunger strike in Tenerife to protest what they believe was a destructive growth of tourism in the popular holiday destination. They also demanded to stop the construction of a hotel and a beach resort in the southern part of the island.
Tenerife is the largest and most popular island of the Canary Islands, attracting about 5 million tourists each year, due to its remarkable geography, ranging from desert landscapes to lush green mountains and stunning seascapes.
Known for its beautiful beaches, the number of tourists in the Canary Islands exploded from 11.5 million per year to around 16 million per year in the last decade, according to local environmental organization Fundación Canarina.
Although the tourism industry is the main source of income in the Canary Islands, accounting for some 40 percent of jobs in the archipelago, the locals are protesting the high number of visitors on the islands which they say has driven up living costs and housing prices, as well as increasing water shortages.
Apart from the influx of tourist arrivals, the Canary Islands is also struggling to cope with thousands of migrants and refugees arriving on its shores by boat. As of November 2023, nearly 32,000 migrants have reached the Canary Islands from West Africa, according to authorities.
