Fuerteventura is facing mounting pressure as it tops the list of Canary Islands with the highest growth in tourist arrivals during the first quarter of 2025.
New figures show the island saw a 7.8% rise in visitor numbers compared to the same period in 2024, welcoming 55,120 more tourists. In total, 758,195 people arrived in the first three months of this year.
The sharp increase is in stark contrast to its neighbouring islands. Lanzarote, which this week was praised for managing tourism growth, recorded a modest 1.9% increase, while Gran Canaria and Tenerife saw more moderate rises of 2.8% and 2.1% respectively.
The surge in Fuerteventura is being driven largely by British holidaymakers. The UK has now overtaken Germany as the island’s most important source market, with 243,181 British visitors arriving in the first quarter, a 13.2% rise from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the number of German tourists decreased by 1.3%, dropping from 239,500 in early 2024 to 236,398 this year.
The figures raise questions about the island's capacity to manage the growing influx of visitors and the long-term sustainability of its tourism infrastructure.
