FEARS are growing that anti-tourism protests sweeping the Canary Islands could hit another British holiday hotspot.
Hotel owners in Benidorm have admitted they are “very concerned” about growing anger among island residents – but brand-name holiday homes in Spain have a “virus”.
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Fede Fuster, president of local hotel association HOSBEC, said demonstrations across the Atlantic archipelago showed there were serious problems that needed to be addressed.
In a speech in the tourist town of Altea, on the Costa Blanca, he said: “We watched with concern how people in the Canary Islands were protesting a few days ago against the ‘negative’ effects of tourism.
“This is serious, it should worry us and occupy our minds. “The delicate balance between tourists and residents that we have been able to maintain for decades has been broken.”
Last weekend, huge, rage-filled protests took place across the Canary Islands in a bid to crack down on cheap tourism and, in particular, drunken Brits.
In Tenerife, where 15,000 people showed up, the hunger strike continues and a new protest is planned for today in the town of La Laguna.
Fuster was enraged because those involved who pointed the finger at hoteliers were confusing “just people with sinners.”
Instead, he launched an attack on the expansion of vacation rentals, stating: “The genesis of this virus is called housing hotelization and digital platforms are its carrier.
“In the last 15 years, this type of accommodation has gone from 4,000 beds to more than 400,000 throughout Spain, far surpassing the supply of regulated accommodation.
“What were previously residential lands are now being hoteled for the benefit of a few who, furthermore, operate with the most absolute impunity.
“And those who are suffering the consequences are our neighbors, our employees, our families and all of us who compete fairly.”
Benidorm has its own British area known as “Little England” and at certain times of the year British tourists occupy almost 50 per cent of all hotel beds in the famous Costa Blanca resort.
Fuster also criticized the Spanish government for not making tourism “part of its priorities.”
He argued that tourism should be seen as a “source of wealth for society” and not as a threat.
“Tourist destinations are the best showcase of a country that can boast a high standard of living and great potential when it comes to being an example of sustainable planning and development.”
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Canarias Se Agota, the organization behind last Saturday’s demonstrations in the Canary Islands, has organized a new march later today in the town of La Laguna, in the north of Tenerife.
Six men and women affiliated with the protest platform, which mobilizes under the slogan “The Canary Islands have a limit”, are now on day 17 of their hunger strike.
Supporters joining the march have been asked to bring a suitcase “to show how they are driving locals off the islands.”
Many are calling on regional president Fernando Clavijo to respond to their demands or resign.
Tenerife yesterday opened the way for tourists to be charged for visiting the island’s natural spaces, including the emblematic Teide, starting January 1 next year.
Its politicians voted in favor of introducing the ecological tax for non-residents after a feasibility study.
Tenerife, an island long popular with British tourists, has been at the forefront of protests related to the type of mass tourism it attracts.
This week, a prominent Tenerife politician urged British and Irish tourists looking for cheap sunbathing spots to go on holiday elsewhere.
Carlos Tarife, vice mayor of the island’s capital, Santa Cruz, said tourists interested in staying at its all-inclusive hotels should book places like the Dominican Republic.
Earlier this month, anti-tourism graffiti appeared across the island asking Britons to go home.
“My misery is your paradise” and “The average salary in the Canary Islands is 1,200 euros” have been splashed on the walls.
In an apparent reaction from the UK, a response in English on a wall next to a message saying “Tourists are going home” read: “Fuck you, we pay your wages.”
The protest organization, Canarias Se Agota, has insisted it has nothing to do with the graffiti.
In turn, they angrily accused regional politicians of blaming them for tourismphobia as part of a “dirty tricks” campaign.
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Why are Tenerife residents furious against British tourism?
RESIDENTS of the largest Canary Island appear to be at war with UK tourists as they attack visitors with anti-tourism graffiti and pop-up local campaigns.
Locals have been furious because they are “fed up” with “low quality” British tourists who only come for cheap beer, burgers and sunbathing.
Now they are demanding a tourist tax, fewer flights to the island and drastic measures against foreigners buying houses.
Some protesters claim their anger is directed at the government and not tourists as they call for change.
They claim that AirBnBs and other vacation rentals are driving up the cost of living and that they are fed up with the noise, traffic and trash that accompany the flood of tourists who visit them each year.
Jaime Coello, president of the Telesforo Bravo Foundation, stated: “The quality of the tourism product is being destroyed by investors and the regional government.”
Waves of anti-tourist graffiti have been painted across the island to tell Brits they are not welcome.
Bitter messages outside tourist spots read “your paradise, our misery” and “tourists go home.”
“Locals are forced to move and YOU are responsible for it,” one printed sign read furiously.
Another said: “Tourists are going home!”
The chaos brewing, along with hatred towards visitors, is now scaring British tourists away from going on holiday to Tenerife.
And Jorge Marichal, head of a hotel chain in Tenerife, revealed that Britons were calling for fear of not being safe while on holiday on the island.
He said: “One of the problems I’m facing is that customers are starting to call and ask what’s going on here and if it’s safe.”
While the hotel owner said he understands the pain of the local population, he added that being “anti-tourist” is not the way to do it.
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