Anti-tourism protests across the Canary Islands next month ‘will be impossible to ignore’, activists have warned.
The vow was tonight laid out in a press release from Tenerife-based environmentalist group ATAN (Asociacion Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Naturaleza).
It blasted politicians for ‘ignoring’ their previous marches last April, which saw hundreds of thousands of locals take to the streets.
A growing number of residents on the Canary Islands are becoming fed-up with the tourism industry, which has been growing exponentially for the past decade.
Last year, more than 18million holidaymakers visited the archipelago, which has a population of just 2.25million.
Locals say this causes a strain on resources, including water, and takes a heavy toll on the environment due to the air traffic, blocked roads and motorways and the huge increase in sewage, among other reasons.
Despite protests growing angrier each year, activists say politicians have continued to prioritise and grow the tourism industry at the expense of local communities.
Its statement read: ‘On May 18, several islands and the Canarian diaspora are called once again to unite in rejection of an economic model based on tourism that is pushing the archipelago to its limits.
‘This outcry, which reflects the sentiment of people been tired of being ignored and mistreated, marks the beginning of a new stage of struggle: firmer, more direct, and more uncomfortable for those who refuse to listen and take real action.
‘For years, we have taken the streets with massive demonstrations, like the historic mobilisation of April 20, when hundreds of thousands made it clear that a model based on overtourism, speculation, and inequality has no place in our land. However, our demands have fallen on deaf ears.
‘The institutions have chosen inaction and disdain for the popular will, deepening the social, economic, and environmental collapse of the Canary Islands.
‘They have even proposed regulatory changes that represent a step backward in territorial protection, such as the amendment of the “ley del suelo” (land law), or have been talking our proposal of a Residency Law that prevents Europeans moving to the canaries as a political strategy empty of real solutions.’
It added: ‘Today, we say enough. If they won’t listen to us in the streets, they will hear us in daily life. We will no longer wait behind banners for them to adopt the urgent measures we need.
‘From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated. 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.
‘The Canary Islands can no longer be a postcard backdrop for the enjoyment of a privileged few. We are the voice of those who reject false progress at the cost of widespread precarity. We are the Canarian people – a people who will not give up until we achieve the change we deserve.
‘On May 18th, the fight continues in the streets. What comes next will be impossible to ignore.’
