Madrid [Spain], April 21 : Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of the Canary Islands in Spain to call for changes to the mass tourism model that they claim is overtaking the Atlantic archipelago, according to Al Jazeera.
The protests started at noon on Saturday (11:00 GMT), and an estimated 57,000 people participated, according to reports in Spanish media that cited the central government's emissary in the islands.
The demonstrators waved flags, as they crowded the streets of the main towns on each of the seven islands in the archipelago, holding signs with messages like "A moratorium on tourism," according to Al Jazeera.
"Canary Islands are not up for sale," and "Respect my home," the slogans read.
Approximately twenty social and environmental organisations called for the protests, claiming that the overcrowding of tourists feeds an unsustainable business model that hurts both the environment and local people.
They have suggested an eco-tax to safeguard the environment, a tourism moratorium, and a crackdown on the sale of houses to non-residents in order to pressure the authorities into limiting the number of tourists.
Spain's Canary Islands, an archipelago of 2.2 million people, were visited by nearly 14 million foreign tourists in 2023, up 13 per cent from the previous year, Al Jazeera reported, citing the official data.
The authorities in the islands are concerned about the impact on locals.
Meanwhile, the President of the Canary Islands Fernando Clavijo stated on Friday that he was "proud" of the area's status as a top travel destination in Spain, but he also noted that additional restrictions were required as the industry' sgrowth is on a boom.
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