A local resident in Tenerife has revealed the top 10 reasons why thousands of people are becoming fed-up with the ‘excessive’ tourism industry.
The motivations have been illustrated by the graphic artist Instagram page @eltipicodetenerife.
The frustrations include environmental pollution, lack of affordable housing and gentrification.
Below are the 10 graphics, each with an explanation in English.
‘Housing crisis’: A surge in Airbnb-style lets is stripping supply for both renters and buyers, while prices are surging year after year
‘Contaminated beaches’: Some beaches and beach services have been closed due to sewage contamination. The Canary Islands has a population of 2.2m, but welcomes 18million tourists each year. This creates an excessive amount of sewage from hotels and tourist accommodations, a lot of which is dumped into the sea.
‘Precarious work’: While record tourism and spending numbers are broken year after year, the salaries of workers have barely increased over the past decade. Meanwhile, a lot of jobs are seasonal, creating insecurity among many workers.
‘Ecocide’: Locals are very angry over a string of illegal hotels and complexes that were built without permission. Many remain half built and an eyesore in the island. They have also damaged the local environment.
Tourists often ignore signs telling them they cannot walk on protected landscapes. Despite the constant rule-breaking, locals say action is never taken, while some tourists also throw rubbish, adding to the pollution. Caravans also continue to park and stay in areas that are supposed to be protected and off limits.
More and more land is being filled by hotels and apartment complexes. Protesters want to ban new hotels from being built.
‘Tourist colonisation’: Locals are fed-up with their towns becoming filled with shops and restaurants targeted towards British and other tourists. They fear the identity of their local towns is being eroded. The man is thinking in the image: ‘Curious how one can be so far from home without leaving the island.’
Collapse of services and infrastructure: During the high seasons, islands like Tenerife suffer crippling traffic jams, with usual 15-minute journeys taking an hour or more. Locals say the islands are unable to cope with the pressure of so many people at once.
Some locals feel their neighbourhoods are ‘no longer for them’ after seeing a ‘gentrification’ towards tourists. A typical complaint is brunch restaurants or British pub replacing a historic bar or business.
‘Complicit politicians’: Protesters are very frustrated by politicians, which they accuse of ignoring their complaints and concerns.
Laurence Dollimore has been covering news in Spain for almost a decade. The London-born expat is NCTJ-trained and has a Gold Star Diploma in Multimedia Journalism from the prestigious News Associates. Laurence has reported from Spain for some of the UK's biggest titles, including MailOnline, The Telegraph, Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, The Sun and the Sun Online. He also has a Master's Degree in International Relations from Queen Mary University London.
