British holidaymakers in Tenerife have hit back against local protesters accusing them of ruining the island and contributing towards a lack of affordable housing.
But despite a 70,000-strong protest set to hit the town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna tomorrow (April 20), most Brits holidaying in Tenerife today were blissfully unaware of local anger, enjoying temperatures of 25C.
Some of those enjoying the sun had been warned about the protests by family members but decided to continue with their holidays regardless telling protesters “we’re not troublemakers”.
Hollie Palmer, 21, and Gareth Blackburn, 40, said they were puzzled by the protests due to the amount of money tourism brings to the Canary Islands, with visitors spending more than £20bn in the Canary Islands last year.
Mr Blackburn told the Express: “I wasn’t worried about it, just confused.
“We were a bit like; why would you protest over this? All of the local businesses’ livelihoods are people coming here from all over the world.”
But Mr Blackburn, from Newport, South Wales, said he did have some sympathy for locals putting up with high housing costs and boozy Brits.
He added: “I appreciate the fact that they might not like how p****d people get. But we’re not troublemakers,” he added, “I can understand why they might be annoyed with the traffic and not being able to go out at night.”
His friend Hollie pointed out that tourism had transformed disused areas of the island into thriving economic centres.
“My grandad [who’d been coming to Tenerife for years] said that before there were all these touristy places it was just desert.”
Ben Sansoni, 25, who had travelled to the island with them agreed, saying: “All the food that local people grow is being eaten by us”.
Locals opposed to the protests the Express spoke to were reluctant to be pictured, but said they felt their voice was not being heard.
The owner of a business offering trips around the island said: “I am completely against them when they say ‘tourists go home.’ We rely on tourists, we don’t want them to stop coming.
“I can’t speak [publicly] because I am Spanish. But I want people to know we are not against them.”
A local the Express spoke to who was heading out to do some scuba diving, offered a more nuanced view.
They said: “We do not want to limit tourists coming to the island, this is about immigration, having too many residents and people moving to the Canary Islands.
“It is like a glass of water that has been filled three times too much and overflows.”
