Carla Henriquez, 38, a surfer and photographer from Tenerife who is a campaigner with environmental association ATAN told the Daily Express that now is not the time to visit the Canary Islands.
She said: “We are protesting today against the current economic model which is based on mass tourism.
“It is unsustainable and deeply harmful because it is based on quantity over quality. Last year we received 18 millions of tourist and we are still the poorest region of Spain.
“Most of the profits go to large hotel chains and foreign investors, while the Canarian people are left with low wages, high living costs, and a collapsing environment.
“We are protesting because this model is pushing our islands to the limit and it is exploiting our environment, our resources and our people.”
She added: “Right now is not the time to visit the Canary Islands.
“We’ve reached a critical point of saturation—our territory, resources, and infrastructure simply cannot handle more pressure. This isn’t about being against tourism itself, but the reality is that, at this moment, we don’t have the capacity to welcome more visitors.