Spain holiday hotspot 'facing collapse' after too many tourists visit

Tourists sunbathing on Colon beach on the Costa Adeje on Tenerife

Experts have warned that a Spanish holiday hotspot beloved by the Irish is facing imminent ‘collapse’.

Infrastructure in the Canary Islands – home to Tenerife, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera, and El Hierro – is said to be under huge pressure because of over-tourism.

Experts working for campaign group Ben Magec-Ecologists in Action said this week that if the massive influx of tourists visiting is not reduced, then it faces “systemic collapse”.

They were speaking out after tourist figures for 2023 revealed a record 48 million visitors, many of whom were Irish.

The organisation’s report reads: “The Canary Islands territory was more than overexploited. We had exceeded the carrying capacity of the territory by seven times, resulting in a scenario of systemic collapse due to the urban development structure.”

The Canary Islands are hugely attractive to tourists because of the warm weather they enjoy for much of the year. Today, Lanzarote will see highs of 23C while the mercury will soar to 25C in Tenerife.

Locals are beginning to push back against the influx of visitors amid concerns that numbers are growing too high for local infrastructure to cope, Mirror UK reports. The vast majority of food is imported, while the islands have difficulty dealing with the waste such large numbers of visitors produce.

The Ben Magec-Ecologists in Action report continues: “Uncontrolled, increase in the non-resident population of European origin, giving rise to completely overcrowded islands in which the generation of waste and the exploitation of resources cause an almost irreversible degradation of our natural ecosystems.”

The diverse array of fauna and flora found on the islands is increasing the importance of protecting them. Lanzarote has significant biodiversity which is in part due to the island’s volcanic origin. In Timanfaya alone, 180 different plant species have been found, providing a home for Atlantic lizards and the Eastern Canarian gecko.

While on Tenerife, protesters have even begun demanding an “eco-tax” for tourists. The slogan “tourists go home” has become popular on Canary Island as locals hit back against holiday-goers crowding the streets of their hometown. It has even seen graffiti at one of the island’s most beautiful beaches, La Tejita.

Protesters have taken to the streets to demand action against what they see as “irreparable damage” done by mass tourism in the main hubs of the island, such as Santa Cruz de Tenerife and San Cristóbal de La Laguna, travel website Meer reports. Both social and environmental groups took part in the protest last month, according to reports from local publication Canarian Weekly. They waved placards saying “the Canaries are no longer a paradise” and “the Canaries are not for sale”. One protester said that the island community was close to “completely collapsing”.

They have warned that sewage spills, long traffic jams and environmental damage caused both by over-tourism and new hotel complexes along the popular beaches of south Tenerife were starting to eat into the natural wonder of the island.

The head of Gran Canarias Architects’ College, Juan Torres, has stressed it isn’t enough to make small changes here and there. He said: “On an urban planning and architectural level, we could not remain with mere cosmetic operations. We had to take the right steps so that we all join in the improvement plans, which were really needed in the Canary Islands.”

It comes as a study from the Sustainability Lab in New York says the Canary Islands can’t handle as many tourists as before without getting seriously hurt.

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