A wave of demonstrations have swept the Canary Islands as locals protested against a tourism model they say has plundered the environment, priced them out of housing and forced them into precarious work.
The seven main Canary Islands are home to 2.2 million people – and welcomed almost 14 million international visitors in 2023, up 13% from the previous year.
The protests were not aimed at individual tourists, activists say, but at the governments that have created a system that skews so much in favour of investors at the expense of local communities.
The tourism industry accounts for 35% of gross domestic product (GDP) in the Canary Islands and local residents who spoke to Sky News agree the islands can’t survive without tourism.
But they are also questioning whether local communities and the environment can survive if things stay the way they are.
What’s the problem? tourism is a ‘cash cow’ – but not for locals
If you’re looking for what’s behind the wave of protests,…
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