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Daily Mirror
09-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Tourist slams Spanish island in brutal 'rip-off' letter as Brits priced out
Riled by 'drastic' price increases on hotels and restaurants, a passionate British tourist has slammed Spain for making one of its most popular islands completely 'unaffordable' The extent of Spain's escalating anti-tourist rhetoric has been laid bare - and it seems Brits are paying the full price quite literally. Last year, the country witnessed a record-breaking 94 million international visitors flock to its mainland, and slew of insatiably popular islands. It was an unprecedented tourist boom that quickly descended into chaos, motivating droves of fed-up locals to take to the street and demand holidaymakers 'go home'. The string of confrontational protests has kept their momentum, with activists vowing to 'intensify' their efforts ahead of the looming summer season. Demonstrations have even taken a violent spin in recent months- with one shocking sign threatening to 'Kill a Tourist' popping up in Tenerife. Reports also suggest anonymous locals set fire to rental cars - often used by tourists to explore the island - to make their message clear. Despite the furore, it seems some Brits are willing to persevere - unable to image a world without their beloved Costa del sun. Edward Fox, who has been holidaying in Mallorca for more than three decades, visits the island for up to nine weeks every single year. In a brutal letter sent to Majorca Daily Bulletin - a Spanish news site for English readers - Edward passionately argued the island has undergone a 'drastic' up-charge on accommodation as well as food and drink prices. He insists these rising prices are 'not reflective' of global inflation figures, and is worsened by growing 'tourist tax' levies that can sting travellers with up to €4 fees per night. The Spain-enthusiast went on to claim Mallorca is now 'unaffordable' for most British tourists - who are now opting to visit cheaper destinations such as 'Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and the Philippines'. "So go ahead Mallorca, bite the hand that has came to this island put so much money into your tourism, infrastructure, government , hoteliers pockets etc etc for the best part of 40 years," Edward wrote. "Us tourists 'Do Bite Back', and me personally and many hundreds of thousands of tourists have bitten back. As a seasoned traveller to Mallorca it is getting far too expensive and non tourist friendly and everything is so not worth visiting or holidaying on this island until your Balearic Government and the people of Mallorca realise this." Edward also raised issue with locals referring to tourists as 'guiris'. This is a word that describes English-speaking foreigners, but has slowly expanded to include northern European tourists as a whole. Article continues below Despite Edward's concerns, it seems most Brits aren't fazed by rising costs or growing hostility. New data published by Spain's National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica) found a staggering 810,045 international visitors flocked to the Balearics during the first three-months of 2025 - a 3.6 per cent increase compared to the year before. However, with threats of more planned protests in the summer - Brits may start listening to the demands of frustrated locals, who argue that over-tourism is worsening the country's housing crisis. In fact, hotel bookings in Tenerife - one of Spain's most popular hotspots - have already warned of a hotel booking 'slump' ahead of the peak season.
Daily Mirror
08-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Brits flood Canary Islands as all-time record smashed and key message ignored
Despite growing hostilities and rampant anti-tourist sentiment, it seems swathes of Brits cannot be deterred when it comes to sunning it up in the insatiably popular Canary Islands An influx of tourists has broken records in the insatiably popular Canary Islands - despite stark warnings from locals. New data published by Spain's National Institute of Statistics (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica) found the archipelago was Spain's main destination for holidaymakers in March. Lured in by the boozy strips of Tenerife, Lanzarote's volcanic vineyards, or Gran Canaria and its vast sand dunes, holidays to the Canaries accounted for almost a quarter (23.6 per cent) of the country's total visitor makeup. A staggering 1.56 million tourists flocked to the group of islands, marking a 0.9 per cent increase compared to the same year before. In the first three months of 2025, the Canary Islands witnessed a 2.1 per cent increase compared to the same period in 2024. While this has bolstered spending figures in the area (with foreign tourists pumping a whopping €2.43 billion (around £2.06 billion) into the economy) not everybody will be happy with the revelation. The new figures come amid rising anti-tourist sentiment and growing hostility - with demonstrators arguing the insufferably busy islands have reached a ' critical tipping point '. Concerned that soaring demand for holiday homes and short-term rentals will price them out of the property market, calls against over-tourism have become intrinsically linked to Spain's housing crisis. Locals have also flagged concerns over rowdy tourists damaging national parks, clogging up traffic, and treating their homeland like a 'theme park'. All of this spearheaded the slew of protests that erupted across the country last year - with thousands of frustrated residents flocking to the streets, armed with banners demanding Brits 'go home'. Want the latest travel news and cheapest holiday deals sent straight to your inbox? Sign up to our Travel Newsletter More recently, anti-tourist rhetoric appears to have taken a violent turn. Back in March, a horrifying sign threatening to 'Kill A Tourist' was spotted in Tenerife, while reports also emerged that anonymous activists had set fire to rental cars on the island to make their message clear. More protests across the archipelago have been planned for this month, with more than a dozen groups pledging to take part under the umbrella protest platform 'Canarias Tiene Un Limite' (The Canaries Have a Limit). As previously reported, a spokesperson said: "Today, our dependence on tourism is greater than ever, housing is more inaccessible than ever, the levels of poverty and social exclusion keep rising, we're losing our unique natural heritage in the world at an alarming rate and macro-projects serving foreign speculation continue unabated. "We're still lacking a true change of model that guarantees a decent future for the people who live on these islands. That's why we're announcing that, in the month of May, we will take to the streets of Tenerife again and we call on the other seven islands to join us again in this shared mission". Spanish activists have also promised to unleash misery on Brits this summer, with Menys Turisme Més Vida (Less Tourism, More Life) - who have been at the forefront of Spain's anti-tourist wave - vowing to 'intensify' efforts over the peak months. This could explain Tenerife's sudden slump in hotel booking over the summer season.
