This is the shocking moment two Tenerife taxi drivers were involved in a fight in Veronicas as shocked British tourists could only watch, as the island tries to stop attracting “lower class” British tourists.
The video showed the confrontation that unfolded at one of the taxi ranks on Avenida Rafael Puig Llivina, where many of the island’s nightclubs are located, on Monday night.
Groups of tourists and several taxi drivers witnessed the fight, some intervening to try to prevent an escalation.
The video circulated online and commentators warned that such altercations could deter tourists from visiting the Spanish archipelago ahead of the key tourist season, according to the day.
It comes as activists on the islands prepare to organize a large demonstration on Saturday over the perceived impact of overtourism, raising concerns about the lack of housing available for residents.
Locals have also shared their frustration that the islands cater too much to British and German tourists who “just want to drink cheap beer, lie in the sun and eat burgers and fries”, asking for “higher quality tourists who really want experience our culture and food and respect our nature’.
Video shows two taxi drivers fighting next to a taxi rank in Verónicas, Tenerife
Bystanders had to intervene to prevent the fight from getting out of control, local media report.
A message scrawled on a bollard in the south of Tenerife
My misery, your paradise: activists urge action in the face of the real estate crisis in Tenerife
Others express concern about the type of tourists welcome. Guiris is pejorative slang for tourists
Residents of the Canary Islands continue to express concerns about the number and nature of tourists arriving each year, highlighting problems finding housing as landlords increase prices in the Christmas season to meet visitor demand.
A large demonstration is planned in Arrecife, Lanzarote, for tomorrow, April 20, with leaflets claiming that protesters will march for “the conservation of natural spaces, a tourism moratorium and stricter regulation for foreigners buying property.”
Residents have also demanded “higher quality” tourists, expressing frustration that northern European tourism has perverted the way the government invests, with the islands increasingly catering to tourists at the expense of locals.
Local painter Vicky Colomer, 63, told MailOnline: ‘I feel like a foreigner here, I don’t feel comfortable anymore.
‘It’s as if everything was made for British and German tourists who just want to drink cheap beer, lie in the sun and eat burgers and chips.
‘We need higher quality tourists who really want to experience our culture and food and respect our nature.
‘This was a paradise but now it is not and it makes me angry. We must reduce the number of flights and visitors and focus on bringing in higher quality people.’
Posters and graffiti have begun to appear all over the islands, with frustrated locals telling tourists to “go home.”
One sign read: “Locals are forced to move and you are responsible for that.”
Another showed an image of a row of apartments, with the caption: “It might be my house, but it’s your Airbnb.” Digital nomads: you are not welcome here.’
Since then, tourists have responded. Graffiti scrawled on a wall in English read: “We pay your [wages].’
Officials have distanced themselves from the complaints, fearing that growing resentment toward tourists could deter international visitors.
Speaking to The Telegraph, Tourism Minister Jessica de León insisted that despite reports of booking cancellations and fears of holiday disruptions, “it is still safe to visit the Canary Islands and we are delighted to welcome you “.
While he said he understood the complaints about housing, he stressed it was “unfair” to blame tourists.
“The problem is that in the last five years an average of 3,000 homes have been built on the islands, when the demand is 20,000,” he said.
“Last year only 200 public housing units were built.”
The president of the Canary Islands has also called for the “common sense” of those protesting against tourism and admitted to being concerned about the growing anti-tourism movement and its potential impact on the region’s income.
Almost twenty associations have called for a demonstration on April 20 in Gran Canaria against the overcrowding of the island, the same day as that of Tenerife. It is organized under the same motto ‘The Canary Islands have a limit’ (The sign reads: The Canary Islands are not for sale)
Graffiti in the south of Tenerife highlights the low monthly salary of workers in the popular tourist spot in the Canary Islands
An anti-tourist message is scrawled on the side of a bollard on the island
Fernando Clavijo stated: ‘We are worried because tourism is our main source of income and I believe that whoever comes here to enjoy, to spend a few days and leave their money in the Canary Islands, should not receive reprimands or insults.
‘We can talk and analyze things to try to improve them but what we cannot do is attack our main source of income and wealth because it would be totally irresponsible; What we need here is common sense and calm.
“There should never be attacks on an economic activity that puts food on the plate of the majority of people who live in the Canary Islands.”
The Canary Islands are highly dependent on tourism and receive around 12.3 million visitors each year.
The direct and indirect contribution of tourism to the archipelago is around 35 percent.