Vandals have covered hundreds of sun loungers on two popular Tenerife beaches with anti-tourist graffiti as part of an ongoing campaign against tourists.
More than 230 sun loungers located on the beaches of Las Vistas and El Camisón, both in the south of the island, were vandalized in the early hours of Thursday, local media reported.
Protesters scrawled anti-tourism slogans including “Canarias se defend” (The Canary Islands defend themselves) and “Canarias no se vende” (The Canary Islands are not for sale).
Local officials said they were shocked by the scenes.
Fátima Lemes, mayor of the Arona City Council, where the vandals attacked, said the graffiti was “an attack on Arona’s heritage” that harms both residents and visitors.
“We Aronas are very conscious of protecting our environment, but unfortunately there are always exceptions that threaten the common good, which is like attacking us all,” she added furiously.
The destruction follows a bitter wave of anti-tourism protests that hit Spain during the summer and autumn months.
In October, around 1,000 protesters took to the streets of the Basque city of San Sebastián in a new Spanish protest against mass tourism.
Local officials said they were shocked by the scenes.
Graffiti have appeared in the Canary Islands inviting tourists to ‘come home’
Noisy protesters stormed a Tenerife beach in October during a new march against mass tourism as shocked tourists sunbathing under a blue sky looked on.
The activists walked behind a banner that said in Basque and Spanish: “Decrease in tourism now.”
A spokesperson for organizers BiziLagunEkin, referring to claims by politicians and hoteliers, as well as many ordinary Spaniards and British tourists, that the protests risk damaging the country’s economic prosperity, said: “Tourism, which is the goose that lays the golden eggs for a few, is for the majority an economic model that suffocates us.
“We say that the city model is designed to favor the tourism industry and that means that the living conditions of residents are getting worse and worse.”
British tourists launched a backlash against anti-tourist locals in Tenerife who told them to “go home” on the same day as the San Sebastian protests.
Despite receiving calls to return home, the British were seen completely unfazed on the beach.
One person was seen casually browsing on their phone while another flashed a peace sign at a camera trying to film it.
Shocking images showed tourists surrounded and cornered by Spanish locals as they sunbathed in swimsuits and bikinis.
Locals were heard shouting “No hay camas pa’ mucho guiri,” which in English would translate to “There are not enough beds for so many foreigners.”
More than 230 sun loungers located on the beaches of Las Vistas and El Camisón, both in the south of the island, are vandalized
This couple was enjoying a day at the beach when rowdy protesters took over.
The tourists were attacked by a crowd of locals waving banners and furious at the current tourism model.
One woman carried a cardboard sign that said, “Tourists, go home.”
Other signs carried by protesters read: ‘Are you enjoying a day at your pool? That water could be used for food’, as well as ‘Macrotourism destroys the Canary Islands’ and ‘The Canary Islands have a limit’. More trees, fewer hotels.’
Another in Spanish said: ‘The Canary Islands do not live off tourism. Tourism lives off the Canary Islands.’
A couple, whose nationality is unknown, was filmed trapped on their beach towel in swimsuits while surrounded by protesters from all sides making noise and waving signs.
Other tourists were seen leaving the area as the beach was overwhelmed by unexpected visitors.