Protestors are calling for a freeze on tourists, arguing that the current model has made life unaffordable and environmentally unsustainable for residents.
Thousands of people protested in Tenerife on Saturday calling for the Spanish island to temporarily limit tourist arrivals.
Holding placards reading “People live here” and “We don’t want to see our island die”, they’re urging for a stem to short-term holiday rentals and hotel construction which are driving up housing costs for locals.
The protesters are being backed by environmental groups including Greenpeace, WWF, Ecologists in Action, Friends of the Earth and SEO/Birdlife.
These kinds of small islands with exotic climate and difficulty to access infraestructure are under extra risk of gentrification. There’s a recurring joke in Spain that Germans have conquered Majorca without shooting a single bullet - meanwhile locals born on the island have to emigrate.