Canary Island activist issues stark eight-word warning to British tourists planning trips

Anti-tourism protesters have issued a stark warning to British holidaymakers ahead of the summer season

An anti-tourism campaigner has issued an eight-word warning to British tourists hoping to holiday in the Canary Islands this summer, saying ‘Tenerife is collapsing’.

Protestors in Tenerife have vowed to ramp up their demonstrations this summer after the Canary Islands saw a surge of two million visitors in 2024. The protests, led by locals of the Canary Islands, kicked off in 2024 with tens of thousands hitting the streets demanding changes, arguing that the archipelago was “reaching its limit”.

It comes as UK tourists were warned last week of the mass protests planned for the Canary Islands over the coming months to counteract ‘over-tourism’.

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Their goal is to pressure institutions and the tourism industry to acknowledge and respond to the long-standing grievances surrounding the territory’s overreliance on tourism, housing inaccessibility, and environmental degradation.

Initially, the actions were concentrated in areas less reliant on tourism, such as the capital, Santa Cruz, and were timed to occur before the tourist season hit its peak. However, due to the island leadership’s perceived ‘lack of action’, the protesters have shifted their tactics, the Express reports.

In October last year, they targeted popular tourist spots frequented by holidaymakers, like Playa De Las Americas, hoping to trigger policy changes to limit visitor numbers and second homes.

Ivan Cerdena Molina, an activist within the protest movement and a member of local environmental group ATAN, voiced his frustration that despite the protests, more tourists visited his homeland last year than the year before. He has also issued a stark eight-word warning to tourists: “Please don’t come, we cannot take it anymore.”

“We had 16 million tourists [in the Canaries] in 2023 and 18 million in 2024. In 2025, the number is increasing again. The government didn’t do anything; it just spoke nice words with no real action.

“The situation is really critical, no one who wants to enjoy holidays with peace would come to a collapsed and congested island, it’s simple there are too many people everywhere.

“Local people are really tired and angry, they are showing it. If we can ask something, it would be, please don’t come, we cannot take it anymore.”

Molina, along with other campaigners, has announced plans for a huge protest as the peak season kicks off in the Canaries’ hotspots. A press statement issued on May 18 under the banner ‘the Canaries have a limit’ declared that activists are escalating their tactics.

“From now on, we will take our fight to the very spaces where their predatory model is perpetuated,” it read. The group has vowed to sabotage public events, face-off with political figures, and take over symbolic tourist attractions to declare their determination for substantial changes.

This commitment starts with protests beginning May 18, set to spread across the islands.

With activism stretching beyond Tenerife, the message is steered at transforming the Canary Islands from a mere vacation photo-op to a region focused on sustainable growth over profit-induced hardship. “The Canary Islands can no longer be a postcard backdrop for the enjoyment of a privileged few,” the activists emphasized.

“We are the Canarian people – a people who will not give up until we achieve the change we deserve. On May 18, the fight continues in the streets. What comes next will be impossible to ignore.”