A hunger strike launched in Tenerife last month as part of protests against mass tourism has been called off after 20 days because officials have shown ‘no interest whatsoever’ in their plight, strikers say.
Four of the six activists who stopped eating announced their decision last night 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 to which they are affiliated, accused the regional government of the Canary Islands of paying them ‘zero interest’.
But after taking his turn to speak, he told supporters at a popular assembly, visibly emaciated after his 20-day hunger strike: “We are amazed at the social reaction and that is the best we can get from this.” I have a lot of hope for the future.’
A man greets people on 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 movement ‘Canaria se agota’ (‘Canaria is exhausted’) protest against the construction of a hotel near La Tejita playa and other mass tourism infrastructure, in La Laguna on the Spanish Canary Island of Tenerife, on April 13, 2024.
‘Go Home Tourist’ is scrawled in English on a wall beneath a property billboard in Nou Llevant, Mallorca, a neighborhood that has seen a huge influx of foreign buyers in recent years
Protesters gathered at Weyler Square in Tenerife’s capital Santa Cruz on April 20, the starting point for a march on the British-popular holiday island.
Canarias Se Agota said in a message after the action was stopped: “This is the society we want. One that organizes itself and fights courageously to defend our country.’
It added: ‘We will move forward with determination and determination until we reach 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.
The activists and their supporters said they wanted regional governors to adopt a more sustainable tourism model to combat problems such as pollution, traffic congestion and a lack of affordable housing, which they have linked to mass tourism.
They also demanded the paralysis of two tourism projects, including the construction of a five-star hotel on one of Tenerife’s last unspoilt beaches.
Victor Martin, a spokesman for Canarias Se Agota, which translates into English as “Canary Islands on the Brink,” said before it began: “The hunger strike is indefinite and will continue until the two macro projects we are fighting are forever have been stopped and the regional agreement agrees in writing to start talking to us about a tourism moratorium.
“A tragedy could happen and someone could die if the government doesn’t listen.”
Just over a week after it started, on April 20, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of the Canary Islands to protest the problems caused by mass tourism and demand that their politicians take action.
The demonstrators made their voices heard under the slogan: ‘Canarias Tiene un limite’, which translates into English as ‘The Canary Islands have a limit.’
Last week the same words appeared painted in white on the asphalt of one of the access roads to Mount Teide in Tenerife.
Activists started a hunger strike on April 11 to demand a moratorium on mass tourism in the Canary Islands (photo: members of the ‘Canaria se agota’ movement during a protest in Tenerife on April 13)
People on 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 that the government temporarily restrict tourist arrivals
The islands are threatened by marine pollution, traffic congestion and a lack of cheap, affordable housing, coupled with the rise in property prices due to Airbnb-style holiday rentals
The islands are threatened by marine pollution, traffic congestion and a lack of cheap, affordable housing, coupled with the rise in property prices due to Airbnb-style holiday rentals
Another message painted on the road read: ‘Moratoria turistica’ – ‘Tourism moratorium’ in English.’
Tenerife, a popular island with British tourists, has been at the forefront of protests linked to the type of mass tourism it attracts.
Just before that, a leading politician from Tenerife urged British and Irish tourists looking for cheap all-inclusive sun holidays to go elsewhere for their holiday.
Carlos Tarife, deputy mayor of the island capital Santa Cruz, said holidaymakers interested in staying in their hotels with their mandatory wristbands on should instead book places like the Dominican Republic.
Early last month, graffiti in English was left on walls and benches in and around Palm Mar in the south of Tenerife, reading, among other things, “My misery, your paradise” and “The average salary in the Canary Islands is 1,200 euros.”
In an apparent response from Britain, a response was left in English on a wall next to a “Tourists go home” message: “F##k off, we pay your wage.”
Canarias Se Agota has always insisted it has nothing to do with the graffiti that has appeared in parts of Tenerife in recent weeks – and has accused regional politicians of blaming them for tourism phobia as part of a ‘dirty tricks’ campaign.
Mallorca-based hotel chef Joan Pla recently warned that protests against mass tourism in the Canary Islands could be repeated in the Balearic Islands.
He claimed that the number of houses built for local residents and instead bought by foreigners as holiday properties was a problem.
And he complained that islands like Mallorca, where he is based, were experiencing the influx of too many people at certain times of the year.
Mr Pla’s comments, made during an interview with a local newspaper, come as hotel bosses in Benidorm admitted they were “very concerned” about the protests in the Canary Islands and showed there were serious problems that needed to be addressed are addressed.