Canary Islanders tell Brits to go home.

sazz1

Being honest I saw the protests on TV news and now won't go to the Canaries again
People in the streets holding placards with Tourists Go Home written on them and chanting Tourists get out. That's enough for me and my family. I would never go anywhere I wasn't welcome. Most of Spain is against tourism too but there are plenty of other countries that have nice beaches so will be going there.
The solution isn't banning tourists but to make a law that certain properties can only be purchased by local people and foreign people cannot purchase any more second homes unless emigrating there permanently.
Sorry if this isn't a popular post but it's how I feel about it. I would feel very unsafe as a tourist there.

There is an easy option, put the prices up that will restrict the numbers there is nothing worse than overcrowded tourist spots. Years ago I went to Venice in June when it was hot, it was hell, there was literally nowhere to sit and take the weight off you feet.
The solution is in their own hands if Spain does not like the tourists put the prices up and a lot less will come, there is no case for providing employment it’s difficult to find the service workers needed for tourism.

I feel for them and everywhere else around the world where mass tourism is overtaking. I don’t know what the answer is. Maybe we should all be reflecting on the way we take holidays. Years ago, it was great to have one holiday in a year. Now, it seems many people can’t stop going away. The sadness is that often local residents and the environment are treated disrespectfully…and I’m not even sure that the tourists have that wonderful a time either! I read somewhere, that the drive to get away results from our dissatisfaction of our every day lives.

BlueBelle
*Lots of complaining that the houses are all being bought to turn into AB&B s and rendering the locals unable to buy any
They have a point*

Similar to many holiday destinations in UK including most of the Norfolk coast.

I hope they succeed too. I grew up in Blackpool in the 60s and 70s and boy did we hate the tourists. My adult self knows full well that that most of the money coming into the town is from holidaymakers but looking at the place now that really isn’t a good model to aim for. There has to be a plan B.

We have cruise ships visiting here during summer season and it certainly causes a bit of disruption at the harbour to parking and normal daily routine. However most people are very welcoming and hospitable. Generally it’s not a huge percentage that come ashore. We are all probably proud to show off our island home.

Being honest I saw the protests on TV news and now won't go to the Canaries again
People in the streets holding placards with Tourists Go Home written on them and chanting Tourists get out. That's enough for me and my family. I would never go anywhere I wasn't welcome. Most of Spain is against tourism too but there are plenty of other countries that have nice beaches so will be going there.
The solution isn't banning tourists but to make a law that certain properties can only be purchased by local people and foreign people cannot purchase any more second homes unless emigrating there permanently.
Sorry if this isn't a popular post but it's how I feel about it. I would feel very unsafe as a tourist there.

I have to say we went to Gran Canaria for the first time in January and I though everyone was either very fed up or just couldn't stand tourists. Service was appalling wherever we went and we certainly never felt welcome. We would never go back.

I too hope the protesters suceed in getting their politicians to listen to them and, preferably get the rest of the world to realise that tourismn is not necessarily a good thing.

The mass influx of people every year to natural beauty spots or man-made places such as Delphi or The Acropolis is damaging.

We could also argue that culturally it has not been an entirely good thing that people have travelled so much and so easily in the 20th century.

Far from broadening our outlooks and promoting good understanding between the nations of the world, quite often an adverse effect has occurred.

We are fast getting to the point where we ALL celebrate Christmas, whether we are Christians or not, Hallowe'en whether it is part of our country's tradition or not, often to the detriment of a local tradition, we all wear the same clothes, made and sold by the same gigantic firms. We all learn English, even if we intend to holiday in a country that has a different native language.

These are examples, but they stem from tourism and damage our culture as much as the mass influx of people and their modes of transport damage the (physical) environment

Time to stop, pause and reflect, then perhaps to see the point of cutting back on tourism amongst other damaging things.

Unless all this protesting brings a new law out the extra building certainly won’t affect where I stay and where I will be staying in November as it is a small place compared to the ones that the protest is about.

In France a registered B & B has to pay business tax, house tax
television tax for every t.v. , diffusion of music tax , whether
it is or isn't , cotisations (Nat.Ins. which are heavy) tourist tax to the Marie and not forgetting 15% commission to the likes of
Booking.com. Quite a support to the economy.

There does need to be more control over using homes as holiday accommodation but that’s not going to stop it because many have second homes in holiday areas. At present many councils have extra charges for second homes similar to business rates.
There are many different accommodations on Airbnb cabins, boats, Huts, Yurts, apartments, rooms, annexes, also many legitimate holiday homes also use Airbnb for marketing. We prefer a hotel if the cost is comparable often it is not, in May we have a short holiday in Interlaken, hotels are around £200 a night so we booked an annex in a chalet for half that.

Business rates can and should be applied to Airbnbs it’s easy to achieve just check who is advertising and chase them up.

Totally agree about AirBnB. Housing being used as a business and thereby effectively removing hundreds of thousands of dwellings from the market. Houses are homes for people to live in; to raise families and to thrive in … they should not be money making enterprises. We don’t use AirBnB! If we go away for a short break we stay in a tradional Bed & Breakfast or a hotel - that’s what they are there for.

Yes they can make more money it's a good investment and needs little to no staff employed but cripples small legitimate
Holiday accommodation

Agree about AirBnBs. One reason there are fewer rental properties for people to actually live in is because landlords realised they can make alot more money from them by short term lets.

The housing problem for locals everywhere has erupted since Air B nB grew into its present form. I don't think even the creators foresaw this happening. Local authorities need to tighten restrictions as they are doing and introduce stricter controls.

So from channel 4, talking to some of the thousands marching, hotels not being finished, developers building on maritme
land areas, precarious work, and there needs to be more sustainable tourism, in their words. 40 million tourists last year 2 million residents. Hunger strikes also going on.
Really can't blame them for feeling like this.

Canard indeed

We went to a smallish game park in South Africa 9 years ago. The description given by another poster bears no resemblence to what we experienced. Our driver was very knowledgeable and we could drive for an hour without seeing another jeep and when we encountered wildlife (and we did see a female cheetah with 3 cubs) the driver switched his engine off and it was so quiet you could hear lions footfall on the road. The animals ignored us totally. We got within a few feet of a female giraffe with her calf who didn’t even look at us while eating from an acacia tree at the side of the road. The downside was nobody had told us it could get down to 0°c at dawn and dusk in September and we hadn’t enough warm clothing. 😂

Some people just can’t keep their traps shut. We have a colony of penguins near our holiday house. No one except those who live there knew about it until now . Now the beach at night fills with tourists with flashlights and loud voices so they frighten the chicks and the parent birds are scared off and the chicks starve. Nothing worse than thoughtless tourists.

They will regret this in the future as holidaymakers will find other places to go. Our son and his family are going there in July but they have said if there are problems, they will never go again. Perhaps it is the younger generation they are complaining about, partying all hours of the day and night, getting drunk etc.

flappergirl

keepingquiet

Oh this from Flappergirl says everything I was going to say.

I am amazed since I came back to this site how so may people are wound up by what the read in the Mail or on TV news?

What happened to questioning the media?

I'm amazed too keepingquiet. Why are newspapers regarded as paragons of truth? They are run for money and to push their own agenda, pure and simple. Other than trying to avoid libel suits (which they often fail at anyway) they can spin anything to their advantage. Words are one of the most dangerous and easily manipulated tools known to mankind and always have been.

It is almost impossible to get to the truth of anything these days. What annoys me about gullible media soaking up what the media tells them like sponges, is that they don't even try.

The media just take advantage of the sponges and keep churning this stuff out. Nothing will change until people get media savvy and stop buying it.

To get back to original topic I've only been to Tenerife back in 1979- I suspect it bears little resemblance to how it was then.

RosiesMaw

Mamie

Maybe they will duck out. 😂😂😂

You’ll be getting your coat? 🦆 🦆 🦆

Orange sauce?

A lot of the tourist £/$/€ spent on game safaris in Africa goes towards conservation.

One of or AC lived within 15 minutes of an enormous conservation reserve, we visited it numerous times. The amount of jeeps allowed in each day and where they could go was strictly governed.

Not all tourists/tourism is detrimental to the area, a lot provides much needed jobs and the encouragement to locals to keep up with local traditions and craftsmanship.

At the prices you pay for a Safari holiday you are benefiting the locals and the local conservation a great deal, the downside is the immense amount of CO2 that is produced to get you there.

Running over cheetah cubs is a gross exaggeration, adults are hard enough to find. Disturbing the wildlife is rubbish, vehicles are ignored by the vast majority of animals, the exception are large territorial male animals, they are dangerous, Elephants, Rhino, Cape Buffalo, Hippo your driver will know to stay well away from those.
When it comes to pollution you can say exactly the same for Maccu Picu, Galapagos or Angkor Wat. Your tourist dollars make a big difference to rural areas overseas.

I've been to the Canaries several times during winter months, I didn't realise the problems the local people were experiencing, but they would definitely have my sympathy and I would think twice about going again, I wouldn't want to add to their problems, and neither would I want to go anywhere where I felt I would be part of the burden they are experiencing. Yes! absolutely they must come first but I guess they also have to factor in how the loss/reduced tourism would impact on their economy, I also sympathise with any foreign country who has to put up with the worst of badly behaved tourists. When they are from our country it does make me feel they shame us all and it makes me angry when such people disrespect the local population.