The Canary Islands have been a popular destination for Norwegians and Scandinavians for many, many years. It is hot all year round. There are plenty of flights. Both meat pies and tapas are served.
In 2023, Spain received over 85 million visitors. The Canary Islands alone had 13.9 million tourists visit, six times more than the archipelago’s population, writes the BBC.
But it is not just idyll. At least not now. At the weekend there were violent demonstrations when citizens took to the streets of the seven Canary Islands.
According to the organizers, more than 100,000 people will have participated, writes El Pais.
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Under the motto “The Canary Islands have a border”, furious protesters demanded a change to the tourism model, which they believe puts a large part of the population in trouble.
– We have reached a point where the balance between the use of resources and the welfare of the population has broken down. Especially in the last year, says Víctor Martín, who is the spokesperson for the group “The Canary Islands have had enough”, to The Guardian.
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The demonstrators believe that, among other things, tourism makes living in the Canary Islands so expensive that it is no longer possible for ordinary people to live there.
According to Martín, wages are so low that they do not cover the basic costs of living.
The demonstrators have several demands. Among other things, they demand that a ceiling be set on the number of tourists who are allowed to travel to Norway’s favorite islands. In addition, they will put a stop to hotel construction, establish an environmental tax on overnight stays and place restrictions on foreigners who want to buy homes.
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Following the demonstrations, several Scandinavian media have written that it is almost “dangerous” to be a foreigner in Gran Canaria now. Photo: Desiree Martin / AFP
Hostility and harassment
Following the demonstrations, several Scandinavian media have written that it is almost “dangerous” to be a foreigner in Gran Canaria now.
Svenske Expressen wrote, among other things, about Ann-Catrin Martinsson, who has lived on Gran Canaria for 18 years. The warm welcome she once received is now said to have been replaced by hostility and harassment.
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– I have never been afraid. But now it’s starting to feel a bit like that, she tells the newspaper.
– No need to be afraid
Canariavisen writes that they have no reason to doubt that some people are experiencing an unpleasant atmosphere in the middle of the mass demonstration, as people are angry at the politicians.
– Most of the protesters have been peaceful, but they are obviously tired of sky-high house prices, low income, high inflation and the development of tourism in natural areas, explains journalist Leo Lunde in Canariavisen.
Lunde believes that the mentioned hatred of foreigners is temporary and limited.
– No, you don’t need to be afraid of being a tourist in Las Palmas and elsewhere on Gran Canaria, as some media have expressed. If you as a solar tourist stick your head out in the middle of a demonstration against mass tourism, you cannot count on people being in the most hospitable corner, but it is important to remember that it is primarily the politicians who must take action.
