Activists are planning protests across Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma to resist what they see as overtourism.

Thousands of people angry at pollution, water usage, and a lack of housing are expected to join protests across the Canary Islands on Saturday to call for an urgent rethink of the Spanish archipelago’s tourism industry and a freeze on tourist numbers, arguing that the current, decades-old model has made life unaffordable and environmentally unsustainable for local people.

Activists are planning protests across Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, and La Palma to resist what they see as overtourism.

A major demonstration is planned in Arrecife, Lanzarote, with flyers asserting that the islands “have a limit” and that protestors will be marching for “conservation of natural spaces, a tourist moratorium, and tougher regulation for foreigners buying property.”

The protests, which will take place under the banner “Canarias tiene un límite” (The Canaries have a limit), are being backed by environmental groups including Greenpeace, WWF, Ecologists in Action, Friends of the Earth, and SEO/Birdlife.

Víctor Martín, a spokesperson for the Canarias se Agota (The Canaries Have Had Enough) collective, which is helping to coordinate Saturday’s protests across the eight islands, said: “We’ve reached the point where the balance between the use of resources and the welfare of the population here has broken down – especially over the past year.”

“Go home” slogans have been written in graffiti on walls, and several residents have started hunger strikes. Other messages reportedly spraypainted on buildings included: “My misery, your paradise” and “Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200 euros”.

Eleven members of Canarias se agota have already been on hunger strike for a week to protest against the construction of two large luxury developments in southern Tenerife, which they describe as “illegal” and totally unnecessary.

British holidaymakers have been calling hotels in Tenerife to ask whether they will be safe during their stays amid the anti-tourist uproar.

Regional tourism chief Jessica de León told holidaymakers: “It is still safe to visit the Canary Islands, and we are delighted to welcome you”.

She said that while she understood the protesters’ cause for concern, it was “unfair to blame tourism” on the issues facing the Canary Islands.

On housing concerns, she told The Telegraph: “The problem is that the past five years have seen an average of 3,000 homes built on the islands, when demand is for 20,000. Last year just 200 public housing units were built.”

Hotel and construction industry chiefs oppose the idea of a tourist tax, which has been suggested.

Last year, 13.9 million tourists visited the Canary Islands – more than six times the islands’ population of 2.2 million. Of those visitors, 5.6 million were British.

The Canary Islands have largely built their economy around tourism, welcoming around 12.3 million visitors each year. In 2023 alone, foreign travellers spent more than €20.3bn in the region, accounting for a fifth of spending throughout Spain.

Tourism, which accounts for about 35% of the economy on the Canary Islands, soared after Covid lockdown restrictions were eased. The volcanic islands were particularly badly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions placed on travel as a result. 

Overtourism has become a major issue in many Spanish cities and regions, triggering protests and backlashes in Barcelona, and leading the authorities in Seville to consider charging visitors to explore the Andalucían city’s famous Plaza de España.

The Canary Islands are the third most internationally visited region in Spain.