A bar owner in Lanzarote has reassured tourists not to worry amid fears of a tourist “clampdown” in the Canary Islands. Ian Slade, originally from Birmingham and now running the Dolphin Inn in Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, insists visitors will be “welcomed with open arms”.
This comes as reports suggest Brits are “abandoning” their sunny retreats in the Canary Islands due to an EU rule change limiting UK nationals to 90-day stays. Protests against “over-tourism” have also been staged by locals in the Canary Islands with declarations that their islands are “not for sale”. However 60-year-old Ian, who has been at the helm of the Dolphin Inn for nearly 25 years, maintains all tourists are “still welcome” on the island despite fears of mass holiday cancellations. He said: “It’s a shame people are thinking they’re not going to be welcomed here because they will be welcomed with open arms.”
He added: “Everybody over here is pretty worried about some of the rhetoric being used over in the UK….