Tenerife's anti-tourism hunger strikers end protest after 20 days
- Four of the six activists who stopped eating announced their decision yesterday
A hunger strike launched last month in Tenerife as part of mass tourism protests has been called off after 20 days as officials have shown ‘zero interest’ in their plight, strikers have said.
Four of the six activists who stopped eating announced their decision yesterday evening in the square in the town of La Laguna in the north of the island.
The other two were not present and were said to be ‘recovering’.
One of the six, who were not officially named by the protest platform Canarias Se Agota which they are affiliated to, accused the Canary Islands’ regional government of paying them ‘zero interest.’
But he told supporters at a popular assembly after taking his turn to speak, looking visibly gaunt after his 20 day hunger strike: ‘We’ve been amazed at the social response and that’s the best thing we’ll take away from this. I’m very hopeful for the future.’
A man greets people on a hunger strike during a demonstration for a change in the tourism model in the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, April 20, 2024
Members of the ‘Canaria se agota’ (‘Canaria is exhausted’) movement protest against the construction of a hotel near La Tejita playa and other mass tourism infrastructures, in La Laguna on the Spanish Canary island of Tenerife, on April 13, 2024
‘Go Home Tourist’ has been scrawled in English over a wall underneath a real estate promotion billboard in Nou Llevant, Mallorca, a neighbourhood that has seen a massive influx of foreign buyers over the past few years
Demonstrators packed into Weyler Square in the Tenerife capital Santa Cruz, the start point for a march on the Brit-popular holiday island, on April 20
Canarias Se Agota said in a message after the action was halted: ‘This is the society we want. One which organises itself and fights with bravery to defend our land.’
It added: ‘We will move forward with determination and firmness until we achieve the Canary Islands we dream of.’
The hunger strike began on April 11 outside a church in one of La Laguna’s main squares. It was announced when it started as an ‘indefinite’ strike.
READ MORE: Brits are told to ‘go home’ as anti-tourist graffiti appears in another Spanish holiday hot spot days after furious protests in Tenerife
The activists and their supporters said they wanted regional governors to adopt a more sustainable model of tourism to combat problems including pollution, traffic gridlock and a lack of affordable housing which they have linked to mass tourism.
They also sought the paralysation of two tourist projects including one which involves the construction of a five-star hotel by one of Tenerife’s last virgin beaches.
Victor Martin, a spokesman for Canarias Se Agota which translates into English as ‘Canary Islands on the Brink, said before it started: ‘The hunger strike is indefinite and will continue until the two macro projects we’re fighting against are stopped for ever and the regional agreement agrees in writing to sit down and talk to us about a tourist moratorium.
‘A tragedy could occur and someone could die if the government doesn’t listen.’
Just over a week after it began, on April 20, thousands of protestors took to the streets of the Canary Islands to protest against the problems caused by mass tourism and demand their politicians take action.
The protestors made their voices heard under the slogan: ‘Canarias tiene un limite’, which in English translates as ‘The Canary Islands have a limit.’
Last week the same words appeared painted in white on the tarmac of one of the access roads to Mount Teide in Tenerife.
Activists started hunger strike on April 11 to demand a moratorium on mass tourism on the Canary Islands (pictured: members of the ‘Canaria se agota’ movement at a protest on Tenerife on April 13)
People on a hunger strike sit in wheelchairs during a demonstration for a change in the tourism model in the Canary Islands, in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, April 20, 2024
Thousands of residents protested in Tenerife, Canary Islands on April 20 to demand the government temporarily limit tourist arrivals
The islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic gridlock and lack of cheap affordable housing linked to the pushing-up of property prices because of Airbnb-style holiday lets
The islands are threatened by sea pollution, traffic gridlock and lack of cheap affordable housing linked to the pushing-up of property prices because of Airbnb-style holiday lets
Another message painted on the road said: ‘Moratoria turistica’ – ‘Tourist moratorium’ in English.’
Tenerife, a popular island with British tourists, has been at the forefront of the protests linked to the type of mass tourism it attracts.
Just before that a leading Tenerife politician urged British and Irish tourists looking for cheap all-inclusive sunshine breaks to go elsewhere for their vacations.
READ MORE: Lanzarote locals launch new dirty tricks campaign against holidaymakers: Fake ‘closed due to tourism overcrowding’ signs are put up on the island as it gears up for huge protest to stop influx of tourists
Carlos Tarife, deputy mayor for the island capital Santa Cruz, said holidaymakers interested in staying in their hotels with their mandatory wristbands on should book places like the Dominican Republic instead.
Graffiti in English left on walls and benches in and around Palm Mar in southern Tenerife at the start of last month included ‘My misery your paradise’ and ‘Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200 euros.’
In an apparent UK backlash, a response left in English on a wall next to a ‘Tourists go home’ message said: ‘F##k off, we pay your wages.’
Canarias Se Agota has always insisted it had nothing to do with the graffiti that has appeared in parts of Tenerife over recent weeks – and has accused regional politicians of blaming them of tourism-phobia as part of a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign.
Majorcan-based hotel chief Joan Pla warned recently the mass tourism protests in the Canary Islands could be repeated in the Balearics.
He claimed the number of homes built for local residents that were being purchased instead by foreigners as holiday properties was a problem.
And he complained islands like Majorca where he is based were having to cope with the influx of too many people at certain times of the year.
Mr Pla’s comments, made during an interview with a local paper, come as hotel bosses in Benidorm admitted they were ‘very worried’ by the Canary Island protests and they showed there were serious problems that needed to be addressed.
Read more