Gran Canaria joins the protests against tourist overcrowding on the Island

Almost twenty associations have called for a protest on April 20^th in Gran Canaria against the overcrowding of the island, on the same day as the one in Tenerife. It is being organised under the same motto “The Canary Islands have a limit” and will start at 12:00pm (midday) at the Alfredo Kraus Auditorium in Las Palmas.

It has been organised to protest against mass tourism in Gran Canaria and for the conservation of natural spaces, the ecotax, the tourism moratorium, and the regulation of property purchases by non-residents.

''The situation is alarming. Despite the record increase in tourists, poverty continues to rise. "The biodiversity and natural spaces of the islands are suffering unprecedented deterioration, while the search for housing has become an increasingly difficult task," ATAN warned in a statement.

''Journeys by road that used to last a few minutes can easily now take up to an hour and a half, contributing to general transportation chaos. Furthermore, the declaration of a water emergency in Tenerife and the daily discharge of more than 50 million litres of sewage into the sea in Tenerife alone are unequivocal signs of an unsustainable and unbearable model,'' the association said.

According to ATAN, the response of the institutions has been ''disheartening'', betting ''on the destruction of the islands with the construction of more hotels'' such as the Cuna del Alma tourist project or the La Tejita hotel. For the association, the protest aims to demand a ''change of course'' towards a sustainable development model that respects and protects the natural heritage of Tenerife and the Canary Islands as a whole.