Canary Island Protests: Is It Tourism or Housing? TUI’s CEO Weighs In
Photo Caption: One of TUI's hotels, RIU Palace Maspalomas, in Gran Canaria. Source: TUI
Skift Take
A big part of the protests is about stopping the rise in short-term rentals. But that is far from the only area where activists want to see change.
TUI CEO Sebastian Ebel said recent protests in the Canary Islands were not about tourism, but rather about a shortage of housing and lack of regulation of online platforms like Airbnb.
The protests started last week with tens of thousands taking to the streets in Tenerife. They are calling for the government to limit tourist arrivals to ease pressure on the environment, infrastructure and housing supply. They say tourism is forcing them into unsafe and unstable working conditions and pricing them out of their homes.
Protests have grown in severity, with one group going on an indefinite hunger strike. Protestors brought signs saying “This is not tourism, it’s colonization!” and “The Canary Islands are not up for sale!”
Ebel told German travel news source, FVW, that unregulated online booking platforms are driving up housing prices and are to blame, rather than tourism as a whole. “These are not protests against tourism,” he s
