Spain ‘don't come' warning for Irish tourists as locals vow to ramp up summer protests in ‘too many people' cry

The Irish Sun

23-04-2025

IRISH tourists have been told not to holiday in the Canary Islands, with "tired and angry" locals claiming the sun spots are too overcrowded.
Anti-tourism protesters in
Tenerife
vowed to
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Hotel and hospitality workers held a strike in Tenerife last week
Credit: EPA/Alberto Valdes
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Some 80,000 people joined Tenerife protests on April 20 last year
Credit: Andres Gutierrez/Anadolu via Getty Images
The Canary Islands include several destinations popular with Irish tourists, from
And although last year's protests were timed to occur before peak tourist season - demonstrators have
Organisers said 80,000 people had joined in Tenerife protests alone on April 20 last year.
In October, protestors in Tenerife
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Locals hit out at the government for their "lack of action" following the demonstrations, which
Demonstrators once again
Thousands of people
Activists also bragged they were
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Those partaking in the protests claim that holidaymakers have impacted housing, the environment and roads for locals - as well as peace and quiet in towns.
Thousands of anti-tourist protesters flood Spanish hols hotspots & call on mob to super glue holiday rental locks
Ivan Cerdena Molina, an activist within the protest movement and a member of local environmental group ATAN, voiced his frustration that despite the protests, the tourist number is increasing each year.
He said: "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.
'WE CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE'
"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.
"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 confirmed that more protests will kick off as we move into the summer months.
A statement issued on May 18 under the banner "the Canaries have a limit" declared that activists are escalating their tactics.
FIRST PROTESTS
SPAIN'S first anti-tourism protests of the year kicked off with vigour on April 5, after thousands of anti-tourism protesters flooded the streets of over 40 cities in Spain.
Protests followed on from a series of
Canary island beach workers also
Unions said they wanted to alert holidaymakers to the possible effects of the strike but asked them not to cancel their plans.
They also said they didn't want tourists to change their image of the Canaries as a good holiday destination.
Protesters across Spain on April 5 were urged by anti-tourism activists to
The main issue addressed at the protest was the lack of affordable homes, which locals say has been caused by the rise in Airbnb rentals and apartments.
An
The letter read: "ENOUGH! STAY HOME! We do not need more tourists; in fact, you are the source of our problem. DO NOT COME."
The group vowed to "take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated" by sabotaging public events, facing-off with political figures, and taking over symbolic tourist attractions.
The statement read: "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."
The group said demonstrations are to start in Tenerife on May 18 at 11am from the Plaza Weyler in the capital tourist hotspot of Santa Cruz.
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Protesters marched on Las Americas beach during a demonstration in Tenerife last year
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