British expat says overtourism threatens to ‘cement over’ Tenerife

MADRID – A British tourism company founder said protesters on Tenerife against “overtourism” were not against foreign holidaymakers but wanted to defend their island before it is “cemented over”.

Sharon Backhouse is the founder of GeoTenerife, which organises sustainable educational science travel trips to the Spanish island, and said she was not against tourism but believed there should be a change in the current model.

Her comments came as six members of Canarias Se Agota (Canaries Sold Out) started an indefinite hunger strike last week in protest at what they see as uncontrolled tourism which they claim threatens the future of the popular holiday destination.

More demonstrations are planned for next Saturday in Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and La Palma under the slogan “The Canaries have a limit”.

“This [protest] is not against foreign tourists. [The Canarians] are warm, welcoming people but they are trying to get a fair deal and protect their beautiful island for generations to come so they don’t just cement over them,” Ms Backhouse told i.

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“We have been calling for a change in the tourism model for a couple of years now. I run a business and I have made an investment in the Canary Islands. I want a return on this but I think it has to be equitable.”

Ms Backhouse, who spends her life between Britain and Tenerife, added: “I think you must pay a fair wage and have contracts which cannot be zero hours. It cannot be foreign investors who come in and pay little tax and drain all that money away.

“If you have people who have a job [in tourism] but have to live in a caravan because they are not earning enough money then something has gone seriously wrong.”

Protesters are demanding authorities stop works at two hotel developments at Hotel La Tejita and Cuna del Alma in Tenerife’s Puertito de Adeje. Both projects were stopped on the orders of the Canary Islands regional government for environmental infractions and irregularities, but construction work has recently resumed.

Ms Backhouse, who made an award-winning film about the 2021 volcanic eruption on La Palma called Lava Bombs, said local people welcomed tourists.

Fernando Clavijo, the Canary Islands regional president, said on Sunday that the tourism model should be reviewed following the protests and said the authority was considering introducing a tourist tax seen elsewhere in Spain.

Last year, tourism accounted for about 35 per cent of GDP in the Canary Islands, according to regional government statistics, and brought employment to 400,000 islanders. The islands have a population of more than 2 million people.

The UK is the biggest source of tourism for the islands. British tourists accounted for 5.7 million arrivals in 2023, more than a third of the 14.1 million foreign visitors who flew in last year, according to data from airport administrator Aena.