Tourists left 'cowering in their rooms' amid unrest in Irish holiday hotspots

Irish Daily Mirror

19-05-2025

Holidaymakers have been left scared to leave their rooms after thousands of people took to the streets in Spanish island hotspots in fierce anti-tourism protests ahead of the summer holidays.
Fed-up locals have made their frustrations clear in the Canary Islands as peak tourism season nears, with an estimated 7,000 people marching through the streets and promenades in Santa Cruz, the capital of Tenerife, alone.
The massive protests have been echoed on each of the territory's six other islands, including Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura, with organisers saying the sun-kissed Spanish islands - which are extremely popular especially with Irish tourists - "have a limit", reports The Mirror.
Organisers - the protest group "The Canary Islands have a limit" - haven't put a total figure on the turnout yet but say the response has been "very high".
Most of the protests began on Sunday at 11am and have seen huge crowds invading seafronts and beaches, with a large crowd of holidaymakers lining the route as spectators. The Canary Islands' campaigners have returned to the streets to protest against the mass tourism model that supports the economy of the islands.
Protesters could be heard blowing through shell-like horns to create loud noises while banging on drums, chanting slogans critical of the local tourism industry.
One of the slogans chanted during the demonstrations was: "El dinero del turismo, donde está?" The phrase translates to: "The money from tourism, where is it?" The noise and general commotion left some holidaymakers too scared to leave their homes, with Irish tourist Alberto Babo telling the Daily Mail he wanted to "avoid the crowds".
He said: "I didn't go out today due to the protests, I'm stuck in my Airbnb to avoid the crowds. I hope they are not violent or anything but just to be safe I'm here. All I can hear is the noise."
The protests have been non-violent, with demonstrators adopting the slogan "The Canary Islands are not for sale, they are loved and defended" in Gran Canaria.
Other banners at the protests declared "The Canary Islands have a limit and so does our patience" and "Enough is enough!" While anti-tourism protests and sentiment appears to have been concentrated in tourist hotspots like Gran Canaria, other Spanish cities have also seen demonstrations, and they have spread further across Europe to capitals like Berlin.
So far, central demands from campaigners include a tourist moratorium, the implementation of an eco tax, and strict new regulation on holiday rentals - especially on platforms like Airbnb.
The protests come in response to growing social unrest in these areas in the face of tourist saturation, environmental impact and the crisis of access to housing.