Thousands protest Canary Islands' unsustainable tourism model

Organizers say 50,000 turn out to demand cap on tourist numbers, say model makes life unaffordable and strains resources

Tens of thousands of people are protesting across the Canary Islands to call for an urgent rethink of the Spanish archipelago's tourism strategy and a freeze on visitor numbers, arguing that the decades-old model has made life unaffordable for residents and environmentally unsustainable.

Key takeaways

• The protests, organized under the slogan "Canarias tiene un límite" (The Canaries have a limit), are supported by prominent environmental organizations including Greenpeace, WWF, Ecologists in Action, Friends of the Earth and SEO/Birdlife.
• Last year, 13.9 million tourists visited the islands, with a local population of 2.2 million. Although tourism contributes significantly to the region's GDP (35%), residents argue that it strains natural resources and inflates rental prices, affecting their quality of life.
• According to the Spanish National Statistics Institute, 33.8% of Canary Islanders face poverty or social exclusion, second only to Andalusia in Spain, reflecting the economic challenges exacerbated by the tourism industry.

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