The Canary Islands are facing an overtourism crisis, with locals protesting over sewage-polluted beaches, soaring housing costs and water shortages following a record 18.4 million visitors
Locals are warning that the Canaries face collapse(Image: MICHAEL WORKMAN via Getty Images)
Canary Islands residents are warning that their communities are being pushed to breaking point as record visitor numbers put pressure on housing, water supplies and sewage systems.
“Tourist, go home!”, “Your paradise, our suffering” and “Even the Canarians have their limits” are among the slogans shouted at recent protests against overtourism across the Spanish archipelago.
The islands welcomed a record 18.4 million visitors last year, compared with 15.1 million seven years ago, before the coronavirus pandemic disrupted travel, according to the National Institute of Statistics. That means an extra 3.3 million visitors needing food, water and accommodation in an island chain with 2.2 million permanent residents. In 2009, visitor numbers stood at 10 million.
Development journalist Ava Hughes says the boom is taking a toll on residents and returning holidaymakers alike, reports the Daily Star.
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“Tenerife is currently trapped in a high-volume, low-value cycle that is alienating its most loyal visitors while simultaneously radicalising the local population against the very industry that provides 35% of their GDP,” she said. She described “viral images of high-rise construction looming over crowded beaches” as “symptoms of a systemic failure in the island’s infrastructure”.
“The primary grievance for many returning travellers is the feeling of being ‘sardined’ into a concrete jungle. When a visitor pays thousands of pounds for a sea view and instead spends their week staring at the rusted cranes of a half-finished luxury resort or the back of another tourist’s parasol, the value proposition evaporates. This isn’t a case of ‘fussy’ travellers; it is a rational response to a product that no longer matches its price tag,” Ava added.
The growth in tourism has been accompanied by a major expansion in accommodation. One estimate puts the number of operating hotels across the Canary Islands at 593, with approximately 265,000 tourist beds.
For Daniasa Curbelo, a young activist who grew up in a disadvantaged family in a small rural village in Tenerife, the changes are deeply personal. She remembers a local beach free of holidaymakers, with pristine water. Today, it is crowded for much of the year.
“Because of social media, no place has remained a secret from tourists,” she told IS.
Like many young Canarians, Daniasa cannot afford to rent a home as tourism and the expanding hotel sector push up costs. Meanwhile, water supplies and waste systems are struggling to keep pace with demand. “Sewer pipes are breaking into the sea and beaches are being closed. Our islands are on the verge of collapse,” she said.
In Tenerife alone, Playa de El Médano, Playa del Socorro, Playa Jardín, Playa de Leocadio Machado, La Jaquita and Tabaiba Area Beach have all been closed this year because of sewage contamination in the sea. By one estimate, tourists use six times as much water as locals, adding to pressure on supplies and farms across the islands.
John Dale Beckley, founder of sustainability platform CanaryGreen.org, told Fodor’s: “Tenerife has been under an official water emergency, but honestly, on the ground, we’re not feeling a ‘water emergency’ at all. People are still showering, watering gardens, filling swimming pools, everything as normal.”
Yet tourism remains central to the islands’ economy, directly accounting for 35% to 40% of GDP. For some residents, its continued growth feels unavoidable.
“The bad part is that everything is tourism,” local resident Jorge told Sage. “The neighborhoods—as we see—are being destroyed.”
Canarian authorities have introduced a “Zero Growth” hotel policy restricting new hotel construction licences in an effort to manage expansion. This year’s visitor total is expected to remain broadly in line with 2025, rather than continuing the increases seen in previous years.
Alongside those restrictions, investment is shifting towards more expensive, upmarket holidays. Last year, €1.039 billion was invested in Canarian hotel developments, more than in any other region of Spain. Much of that money has gone towards turning ageing two- and three-star hotels into luxury accommodation.
According to EY Parthenon reports, 44 new hotels and luxury extensions are expected by 2028, adding 6,395 rooms. The developments include a €700 million masterplan in Gran Canaria intended to deliver five new premium hotels over the coming years. As the market moves upmarket, budget accommodation is becoming harder to find. The Hotel Price Index shows room rates rose by 65% in the five years to 2023. More recently, the average hotel room price across the islands increased by 4.3% from 2025 to 2026, reaching €131.94 a night.
Travelling to the islands is also becoming more expensive. Jet kerosene alone now costs roughly €84.60 per passenger each way on typical routes from London airports to Gran Canaria, partly because of the fuel price surge triggered by the US and Israeli invasion of Iran.
Travel publication Fodor’s has placed the Canary Islands on its ‘No List’, highlighting destinations holidaymakers should consider avoiding.
Campaign group Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Naturaleza has also warned about the pressures facing the archipelago.
“The continuous arrival of new residents—mainly Europeans—worsens overpopulation, environmental degradation, and land occupation, given the islands’ very limited space. Essential resources like water are also being pushed to their limits,” the group said.
“We are losing our identity, culture, and, ultimately, our right to exist as a community. Tourism has become unlimited, mass-oriented, and largely low-cost party tourism that doesn’t come to truly discover the islands, but to consume a fake backdrop.”
The Canary Islands tourist board has been contacted for comment.
