Supporting the summer crowds, thousands of protests against Spain’s popular Canary Islands
Gran Canaria, Spain – Thousands of people protested mass tourism in Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday, urging authorities to limit the number of tourists to protect local residents from housing costs, traffic jams and heavy services.
Demonstrators marched under the banner's “Canary Restrictions” and took to the streets on major islands throughout the archipelago and several cities on mainland Spain. Some people yell at the impact of tourism on water supply.
“Tourism is very important to the Canary Islands, but we have to realize that the collapse is complete,” Tenerife hotel manager Juan Francisco Galindo told Reuters.
His father owns a small island property and the local government issued an expropriation order in 2023 in 2023 due to the approval of the luxury hotel comprehensive project.
He said: “My father had only 70 square meters (750 square feet) they wanted to pull out.
According to official data, more than one million foreign tourists visit the Canary Islands every month, while the local population is 2.2 million.
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A man showed a sign that read “Granganataria exceeds the limit” and during a demonstration, the tourism model of the Canary Islands changed on May 18, 2025 in the Canary Islands.
Spain has a record number of tourists in 2024 and is expected to have more tourists this year.
Galindo says the number of hotel beds has tripled since the construction of island infrastructure in the 1970s
Spain has witnessed several protests in other popular resorts, including Mallorca, Barcelona and Malaga. A similar demonstration was held at Canary last year.
Sirlene Alonso, a lawyer living in Gran Canaria, criticized regional government plans to build more housing rather than limiting travel figures.
“The goal is not the quality of tourism, but the increasing number of tourists coming. The number of tourists and people who live here has put us in trouble,” she said.
Canary Island officials traveled to Brussels this week to seek EU funding from the outermost part of the EU.
People gathered during a demonstration to demand changes on the Canary Islands in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain on May 18, 2025.
This article originally appeared in USA Today: “Traveling home”: Canary Islands, Spanish protests attracted thousands
