Protesters demand changes to mass tourism in Spain | DW News 

I am a tourist… and I appreciate this kind of care in planning better tourism. It is important to protect their living too..

I have lived in Tenerife since i was 8yrs old (39 years) the Canarians aren‘t protesting about tourism, we live off Tenerife, i‘s the housing problem. The prices of houses have skyrocketed since AirBnB came on the scene, and alot of rich Europeans, come here to buy a house cheaper than in their home country and then use it as a holiday home and earn money off it using Airbnb and the Canarians are getting kicked out of their rental properties that are being sold and then can‘t afford, on the wages we earn here, to pay the exorbitant new rental fees. Get your facts straight!

Bet the Venetians wished they had done this before their home turned into a theme park

If I could afford to travel, the LAST place I'd go is where everyone else is headed.

Ban Airbnb for starters.

I would bet the people making all the money don't live there.

I once watched a TV documentary about how young British tourists getting drunk and misbehaving in Magaluf and felt petty for the locals, especially the medical teams.

Their home their decision

I just watched a documentary where small islands and their limited water resources are running out and the sewage systems are failing. It's when faecal bacteria close swimming beaches and contaminate the locals' drinking water. The locals are driven to the slums because the apartments are too expensive. Luxus resorts are the worst.

Demand 1000 Euros a day in fees per tourist. That will solve some of the issues.

A good start would be to ban Airbnb.

Its the same trend in all big Cities, too many tourists, to many airbnb's, higher inflation, shortage of housing. Just a selected few are benefitting from the mass tourism....Basic necessities like housing, public transport, healthcare should at all time be affordable for locals.

those private air b y b, private daily rental, driving up cost rental and removing private space from local resident, add on, garbage... the residents not just here, Barcelona is not place facing the same problem.

Tourism cannot be the base of a developed economy... But the canary islands have another problem, they lack other big sources of revenue besides tourism.

its not the tourists (people) its the tourism industry greed.

Best of luck. Although tourism accounts for 35% of the islands GDP that money only benefits the wealthy. I believe the sustainable tourism model is a better choice for everyone and will allow local people to live with better wages and services while people are still able to come and enjoy a more authentic local experience. And this model of tourism should be applied to every place on this planet. We humans need to appreciate the homes of people and wildlife in a better way. Thank you!

As a resident of Massachusetts who has seen Cape Cod destroyed by the same forces of tourism, I can sympathize. The first step is to gain control of housing being used as an economic investment by wealthy outsiders. Some where I read that Corsica has made efforts to forbid outsiders to buy property and in some villages the purchase of a home is limited to those who have proof of continual residences for over ten years. I read this ages ago so I am not quite sure whether it had any success. At the time this seemed logical to me. I am not sure whether it was a success.

allready in the nineties there were murals against mass tourism in gran canaria

BS. The people in the Canary Islands will quickly realize they want tourists back once things slow down. They are an island and their primary means of income is tourism.

That is problem of local government rather than tourist 🎉

That’s how life is. Rich people coming to enjoy your weather. Buying up your assets. 100% support.

Last I checked tourism is 35% of their economy, they better find some alternatives.

I get most of their points, but how will fewer tourists decrease unemployment, seems to me like it'd just increase it.

I wish they would do this in Phuket. It's just a mess here and seriously harming the environment, not to mention the stress the over crowding is causing people.

I blame social media. Tourism economies are rarely good. But, they could just have no economy instead.

This is good. Tourism can be excessive and a country needs to be able to control it.

Becareful what you wish for !!

i've seen this happen before, and the mass regret that comes with it being fullfilled. The tourism stands for almost 40% of the islands GDP... where other islands (for example in the mediteranian) has done the same with about 15-20% of their GDP being tied to tourism, the general wellbeing of their economy deepdived and social structure aswell as investments dropped in years to come, aswell as mass exodus.

Really, those benefiting from tourism should be paying for the clean up and protection of these islands.

I do tend to side with the locals on this. But.... please don't blame any construction works on tourism, blame the planning approvals which is run by locals!!

Though I support the locals 100% in this effort, I think they'll find that it is a double-edged sword. They are out in the middle of the ocean on islands... virtually no other means of creating jobs or income other than tourism-related projects--including building hotels, resorts, etc. Hawaii has this same problem. The locals can't afford to live on their own islands anymore... but without the tourists--who drive up the cost of everything--they'd virtually all be unemployed and uneducated. (Schools are paid for by the billions in tourist dollars / sales / occupancy / rental car taxes... as are roads... food stamps... health care... etc.) For the Canarians, this is a matter of governance. Who have they been voting for / electing to represent them over the past few decades? Because it is THOSE elected officials who are essentially responsible for what is happening in the islands right now. If the local want a different future--they'll need to elect different leaders--and make different laws and regulations--and ENFORCE them.

The citizens of a place whose economy has nothing to offer but tourism is asking the tourists not to come?

I’ve been to 4 of the main islands. Yes, Tenerife and Gran Canaria were built up but Lanzarote and fueteventura appeared to not build upwards and seemed to keep to 1-2 stories and not over populate

In Fernando de Noronha, Brazil, has a tax to visit to preserv the island and a limit od tourists

Sounds like Bali as well 😢

Their politicians are the problem. It’s a global problem. It’s as if money was discovered the other day the way these guys take kickbacks.

Always a good idea to limit the quantity of riff-raff entering your jurisdiction.

Tourists mainly go to the southern, sunny parts of Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Even if tourism suddenly stops, do most local really live off on those barren, dry lands in the south?

In this time of mass tourism is a curse to live in a beautiful place.

I cant blame them. I would feel the same.

It’s funny, in the canaries they want to remain in a permanent subsidized status quo without excessive tourism, without industry, without oil exploration and now the also don’t want offshore wind. The world changes and they also need to adapt, like the rest of Spain. I am all in for regulating tourism and preserving nature but one can allow to do so by being wealthy. And wealth comes from economic activity.

Yes! Please control tourism And not just in the Canary Islands This is also about housing prices raising cause of Airbnb… Everyone is a tourist now … Back then it was a luxury and you got quality tourists Now you have uncultured people flocking about and causing chows.

I/we feel your pain, it has grown, well, over grown in our small NW Florida town, a big company that owns land that entirely surrounds the area has gone nuts and some in our city council have to filling their pockets and short term rentals are killing us.

Everyone is welcome to Panamá ☺️❤️🇵🇦🇵🇦 We hace a sunny summer and a Lot of beaches.

Certainly be moaning if there were no tourists, can't win.

Thats crazy. I am not even sure how 2 million live on this tiny islands

We in Tennessee need this. The entire country is moving here and paving away its beauty day by day.

Have a limit on tourism but not on immigrants from Africa that take all the money that the tourism make

Double the prices.

No problem, sent them to Colombia. We need them in Colombia 🇨🇴 🙏 🙌.

I understand, I will go somewhere else.

Ironically, working class locals hate working class tourists. Rich who can afford the five star hotels, welcome.

I hope the government listens! If not, how many people will visit if all the workers stay home!

you can't have it bothways...

The canary islands have a limit, but not the united states lmao

So if they mean "tourism" from Africa, I'm afraid they don't stand a chance 🙄🥴!

Looks like a retirement community grudges.

listen to the people, if they want to preserve their natural beauty with less tourists, all for it👍go Spain

If the Canarians want to get rid of the tourists - let them decide to get rid of them! I wonder what else will keep the economy afloat? I don't know much about the Canary Islands! Is there some sort of industry?

Good for them. Fighting for their community

La inmigración masiva es peor que el turismo

Tourism: okay Mass, unsustainable tourism: not okay Simple as that

Tourism should end there. Let’s see how they cope; economically & financially.

Why is it that it’s not OK for Americans to stand up and say this about our United States? It’s not OK for Brits to say this about Britain but it’s totally acceptable for Spain to say about Spain??! I hope Britain keeps pouring into Spain, and Spain keeps looking this good. A lot of us Americans as well as well. 😘

I don’t blame the locals.

That's all fine but you should also protest for the huge amount of illegal immigrants that enter the Canary Islands and all the problems they bring, especially delinquency.

99 percent of them are tourists or Spanjards that immigrated themselves to Tenerife ; in the last 30 years :)

Housing reforms limit one house per person simple

The irony

You mean there's no hotel/motel tax? This is a common tool used by cities in Texas and helps build revenue.

Very simple solution. Hotels, restaurants and bars can all band together and raise prices, and the government can introduce a tourist tax of a few euros per night that gets paid at hotels. And since the British have no ability to handle alcohol, close the bars earlier.

Good for you guys! It also takes away from the culture when visiting with so many tourists around.

I understand all your concerns , as I to live with all the snowbirds that come and are here for months. It’s to much.

Isolated areas of heavy tourism always have structural issues. High cost of living, lower wages and a volatile economy. Tourism jobs aren't high paying jobs like big corporate jobs. (Graduated from University of Hawaii)

Excellent, give the locals more power and some return on tourism as well Greetings from Australia

Be careful what you wish for

Not true...

Any tourist places are like this

Como dirían los salseros: No hay cama pa' tanta gente.

tourists bring 11 billion euros every year...the local government has to introduce a tax so that the local population benefits

People in Antalya/Turkey has to wake up too

I 've seen how too many of we Brits behave towards the Spanish and absolutely understand why they want tourism to be better regulated.

This issue happens everywhere in the world. Living in south of France/Northern Spain it was a blessing when the season was over but it is income for many. Have a friend living in N. Wales - and inundation during certain times of years. Looks like the locals have to take the good with the bad, no matter where you live.

nadie ha visto el vídeo ni entiende absolutamente nada...

stop all tourism

Plus….maybe tourism only specific months out of each year. I’ve heard other places have done similar. Sorry this is happening to your islands.

Asi es desde Aruba solidario

They want wealthy tourists, not broke ones.

Bulgaria has the same problem. And yhe building goes on. UNESCO can't stop it. National historical landmarks and the territory around them means nothing anymore. And ecological crimes vet covered up so they can continue to happen.

I don't blame them

what about illegal immigrants? do they want them ?

I wish them the best...here in my country money goes first..and people last...😐😐

If I go to foreign countries, I always try to learn the language, I go where the vernaculars go and I avoid such places of mass tourism like the plague. Canary Islands, Baleares, Barcelona, Paris, Berlin, London, all kinds of tourism hotspots .. nothing to do there!

I think this is Björk’s fault lol. I remember years ago, her talking about Iceland about how fabulous it was and it was like her own little private world and now it’s a tourist swamp. Then I remember her talking about how she’d found a place in the Canary Islands and how it was free from tourists there lol.

The world is a vast place. Don’t waste your time in Spain.

Good to know how locals feels about us, tourist. I have rebooked my holiday to Greece after watching this video

This people are funny in their islands there is mass unemployement , when they need a job where do they go ? Britain , germany , netherlands , scandinavia , france !! And canarians dont want the people who give them job to go in holidays in the canary islands 😅😅😅😅😅😅😅😅

Not only do the people making the money from this toursim Not live there, but very little tourism revenue, anywhere, really goes to the citizens or their businesses anymore. If it ever did. It's reached the point I will coin with a new term: "Community Trafficking". A parasitic arrangement benefitting only the wealthiest, masquerading as this popular well-known pastime of exploring other environments and cultures.

There are cheaper destinations for tourists. You cannot micromanage a customer, if you don't want them to come to your business they won't come and you close down your business. Losing 35% of GDP will hit them hard, imagine how the world has been hit hard by COVID. The cost of housing is high in popular tourist destinations, especially, in Europe but locals need to be businessmen and women in such areas rather than depend on salaries from hotels and restaurants. Unless there laws preventing locals from doing business with tourists to generate extra income, I don't know.

I’m for this and I like travel. People have to live their day to day lives and shouldn’t struggle bc of tourism