Canary Islands locals turn on anti-tourist zealots - 'Cutting off their noses to spite their faces!'

The demonstrations, organised by as many as 20 different groups under the slogan "Canary Islands have a limit", have brought anti-tourist sentiment to the boil - and have made headlines stretching from the summer to the off-season.

Protesters have stormed popular beaches, brandished placards with messages such as "the Canaries don't live off tourism, tourism lives off the Canaries", and even sported images of guns.

But now, some locals have hit out at the movement, with business owners arranging counter-protests to highlight the importance of tourism to the islands' economy.

Augusto Ferreira, a restaurant owner in the Canaries, organised one counter-protest called "Lanzarote Loves Tourism".

He condemned the anti-tourism sentiment, saying it was instigated by local politicians "playing political games".

Ferreira emphasised just how crucial tourism is to the islands' economies, saying: "I have heard very nice stories from people who say their family live off tourism, and that thanks to tourism they are what they are."

And David Morales, the People's Party's tourism chief in the Canary Islands, vowed to defend "the right of tourists to enjoy their holidays without being the target of interruptions or gestural or verbal attacks, and certainly not physical attacks".

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The Spanish National Statistics Institute has reported a 10.3 per cent year-on-year increase in visits to the Canary Islands, totalling 9.9 million tourists from January to September in 2024.

Those millions, in turn, brought a record-breaking 20 billion euros to the islands last year.

And while those numbers dwarf those protesting, Spanish authorities still recorded 8,000 participants in last weekend's demonstrations.

One protester's sign read: "Enjoying a day at your pool? That water could be going on food."

While one unnamed British resident - married to a Canarian - laid into the protesters, telling The Telegraph: "They're cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

"The majority of my Canarian family all work one way or another in relation to tourism. They think the protesters are stupid - and totally don't agree with it."

But anti-tourism protesters have continued to lash out at rising housing costs and environmental issues.

Sarah Lopez, a 32-year-old from Gran Canaria, said: "We need a change in the tourist model so it leaves richness here, a change so it values what this land has because it is beautiful."

Others declared: "Macrotourism destroys Canary Islands" and "The Canaries have a limit. More trees, fewer hotels."

And the Canary Islands' regional government has proposed a law to introduce stricter controls on short-term rentals in their anti-tourist crackdown.

The legislation, expected to pass, will prohibit new build properties from offering short-term lets.

Property owners will have a five-year window to comply with the new regulations. This move aims to address concerns about housing availability for locals.

But some argue that reducing tourism could have severe economic consequences.

Martin Astley, a long-term resident and Tenerife estate agent, asked: "What would the protesters think if tourists and tour operators boycotted the Canary Islands for a whole year or two?"