As the summer travel season ramps up, campaigners in the Canary Islands have announced a sweeping wave of protests set to begin on May 18, under the rallying cry “the Canaries have a limit.” The movement aims to spotlight the social and environmental toll of mass tourism in the region.
In a fiery statement, activists vowed to escalate their tactics, targeting public events, political appearances, and symbolic tourist locations across the archipelago. “From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated,” the group declared, promising acts of disruption that will be “impossible to ignore.”
While the protests will begin in Tenerife, the campaign is designed to sweep across all islands, signaling a broader shift from postcard-perfect destinations to communities demanding sustainable development and local dignity over unchecked tourism profits.
Organizers argue that the Canary Islands have become a playground for the privileged, at the expense of local people’s quality of life, housing affordability, and environmental stability. “We are the Canarian people — a people who will not give up until we achieve the change we deserve,” they said.
The timing is strategic: with summer visitors beginning to arrive in droves, the protests are poised to disrupt the very engine of the islands’ tourism-driven economy — a move campaigners hope will pressure policymakers into real, lasting reform.
