‘Tourists Go Home’ slogans spread across the south of Tenerife

Tourism is the heartbeat and economic engine for most parts of the Canary Islands including the south of Tenerife, but for many, it is starting to get out of hand and causing more harm than good. Yesterday morning (Sunday) residents and holidaymakers woke up to slogans expressing that feeling across the town of Palm-Mar, the latest place to be a target of the graffiti.

Messages of ‘Tourists go home’, ‘My misery your paradise’, and ‘Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200€’ were painted on walls and viewing points in prominent areas of the town.

Although everyone is aware that the island needs tourism to survive and thrive, as proved during the Covid pandemic, many residents and environmental groups believe that the government are taking it too far and saturating the island leading to a reduced quality of life for its citizens.

Housing problems have been well highlighted as landlords are turning to more rewarding holiday lets, meaning that there is a scarcity of residential properties available on the rental market, traffic is almost at gridlock due to the volume of cars, particularly when tourism numbers are at their highest and the roads are full of rent-a-cars, and more hotels and tourist ‘villages’ are being given the green light to attract even more people.

As one of the slogans says, the average wage in the Canary Islands is just about 1,200 euros in take-home pay, which is not enough when compared to rising rents, increasing interest rates, and the cost of living due to inflation rates.

On Friday, a water emergency was declared by the Tenerife Cabildo due to a lack of reserves for human consumption and agricultural use, which although not directly attributed to tourism, it was highlighted that tourist areas use six times more than residential areas meaning a larger supply is needed as tourism grows.

Eventually, something has to give but what that is and how and when the situation will be resolved, is to be seen. But in the meantime, it doesn’t look as though it is going to get any better any time soon.

(BOXPOSTS)