Anti-tourism protesters in Tenerife have vowed to ramp up their demonstrations this summer after the Canary Islands saw a surge of two million visitors last year.
The protests, led by locals of the Canary Islands, kicked off in 2024 with tens of thousands hitting the streets demanding changes, arguing that the archipelago was “reaching its limit”.
Initially, these actions were concentrated in areas less reliant on tourism, such as the capital, Santa Cruz, and were timed to occur before the tourist season hit its peak. However, due to the island leadership’s perceived “lack of action”, the protesters shifted their tactics.
In October, they targeted popular tourist spots frequented by Brits, like Playa De Las Americas, hoping to trigger policy changes to limit visitor numbers and second homes. Despite the international attention garnered by the initial wave of protests, it did nothing to deter foreign tourists from flocking to the Canary Islands.
Will you still be visiting the Canaries despite the protests? We’d love to hear from you. Email webtravel@reachplc.com
Ivan Cerdena Molina, an activist within the protest movement and a member of local environmental group ATAN, voiced his frustration that despite the protests, more tourists visited his homeland last year than the year before. “We had 16 million tourists [in the Canaries] in 2023 and 18 million in 2024. In 2025, the number is increasing again. The government didn’t do anything; it just spoke nice words with no real action.”, reports the Express.
Asked about the advice he’d give to Brits eyeing a Canary Islands holiday this year, Molina did not mince his words. “The situation is really critical, no one who wants to enjoy holidays with peace would come to a collapsed and congested island, it’s simple there are too many people everywhere,” he stated.
“Local people are really tired and angry, they are showing it. If we can ask something, it would be, please don’t come, we cannot take it anymore.”
Molina, along with other campaigners, has announced plans for a huge protest as the peak season kicks off in the Canaries’ hotspots. A press statement issued on May 18 under the banner “the Canaries have a limit” declared that activists are escalating their tactics.
“From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated,” it read. The group has vowed to sabotage public events, face-off with political figures, and take over symbolic tourist attractions to declare their determination for substantial changes.
This commitment starts with protests beginning May 18, set to spread across the islands.
“We will boycott public events, confront political leaders during their appearances and occupy symbolic tourist spaces to make it clear that we will not stop until real change is achieved.”
With activism stretching beyond Tenerife, the message is clearly steered at transforming the Canary Islands from a mere vacation photo-op to a region focused on sustainable growth over profit-induced hardship. “The Canary Islands can no longer be a postcard backdrop for the enjoyment of a privileged few,” the activists emphasized.
They stand firm as the voice of the local opposition to a progress that deepens the rift of precarity.
“We are the Canarian people – a people who will not give up until we achieve the change we deserve. On May 18, the fight continues in the streets. What comes next will be impossible to ignore.”
Before the protests in Tenerife, Mallorca will endure a separate, “massive” tourism protest on May Day, May 1. Trade unions are gearing up for “the most militant demonstration in years.” Thousands of people are expected to take to the streets to show their opposition to the Balearic government’s policies on housing and mass tourism.
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