Enough is enough!' chant raging anti-tourist protesters as thousands flood the streets in Canary Islands
Eliana Nunes
Rita Sobot
Published: Invalid Date,
THOUSANDS have flooded the streets of the popular Canary Islands in Spain's third wave of protests against overtourism this year.
Locals across the Canaries say their home has been turned into a playground for tourists - as holidaymakers awkwardly watch from the sidelines.
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Demos have taken place today across the Spanish archipelago's islands, including Tenerife, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Fuerteventura.
In Santa Cruz alone, Tenerife's capital, around 7,000 people are estimated to be on the streets by Spanish security forces.
In Gran Canaria, around 3,000 people are estimated to be present.
The organisers, a group named "The Canary Islands have a limit", say the turnout has been "very high".
While no incidents have been reported since the marches began at 11am, police remain on the scene.
Campaigners claim that despite previous protests, no changes have been made by the government.
The slogan of the march has been: "The Canary Islands are not for sale, they are loved and defended."
Similar marches have also taken place today in other Spanish cities and in Berlin.
Locals are calling for three key measures:
Tourist moratorium: A freeze on new hotel and holiday rental licences, especially in overcrowded areas, to ease pressure on resources and protect rural and coastal land.
Ecotax: A tourist tax to fund public services and offset the environmental impact of mass tourism.
Holiday rental regulation: Stricter controls on platforms like Airbnb and real estate speculation to keep housing affordable for residents.
It comes as Spain's first mass anti-tourist protests of the year kicked off in April after thousands of people across 40 cities took to the streets.
According to the Canarian Trade Union Federation, the wealth generated by tourism should be distributed more fairly to improve the labour and wage rights of more than 170,000 tourism workers in the Canaries.
They also demand fairer distribution of tourism revenue to improve life for Canarians - boosting public services like healthcare, affordable housing and transport to fix the current road collapses.
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"The Canary Islands have a limit" movement argues the Canaries' current economic model is "based on touristification, speculation, inequality and infinite growth in a very limited land".
The campaigners said that despite the "massive demonstrations", authorities have ignored their demands with "regressive" regulations, only "deepening the social, economic and environmental crisis".
The movement has issued ten key demands, including halting destructive developments, imposing a tourist tax, enforcing a moratorium on new tourist projects, protecting natural areas and stopping sea pollution, among others.
The campaigners they will continue protests throughout the summer and are planning boycotts and sit-ins.
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What is overtourism?
Overtourism refers to the phenomenon where a destination experiences a volume of tourists that exceeds its manageable capacity
The term is often used to describe the negative consequences of mass tourism, which includes overcrowding and environmental issues
As a result, popular destinations have become less enjoyable for both visitors and locals
Local communities, in particular, bear the brunt, facing rising costs and a depletion of resources
In response, national and local governments have started to implement measures to reduce overtourism
Some solutions include:
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