British tourists are reportedly abandoning their sunny retreats in the Canary Islands due to a game-changing European Union rule change. It has emerged that UK nationals can only spend 90 days at a stretch in Spain. This strict adherence to EU regulations, implemented a few years post-Brexit, has led to disgruntled UK tourists in the Canaries considering packing their bags and heading home.
Thousands of Canary Island locals have taken to the streets to protest against tourism, declaring their region is ‘not for sale’. These demonstrations aim to halt the rise in short-term holiday rentals and hotel developments, which are driving up local housing costs. Signs reading ‘We don’t want to see our island die’, ‘Stop Hotels’ and ‘Canaries not for sale’ were visible during these mass protests.
‘It’s not a message against the tourist, but against a tourism model that doesn’t benefit this land and needs to be changed,’ one demonstrator in Santa Cruz de Tenerife expressed. Another protester, Antonio Bullon, stated: ‘The authorities must immediately stop this corrupt and destructive model that depletes the resources and makes the economy more precarious. The Canary Islands have limits and people’s patience has limits too.’
The president of the islands expressed his pride on Friday that the region is a top Spanish tourist destination, but admitted that more controls are necessary. The islands, which house two million residents, receive a significantly larger number of tourists each year.
