Business leaders in the south of Tenerife have called for increased policing in Las Verónicas and other busy tourist areas to continue following the major operation carried out in Playa de Las Américas at the weekend.

The Círculo de Empresarios Tenerife Sur (CEST) has welcomed the police deployment, which resulted in six confirmed arrests, but says the operation should not become an isolated response to problems in one of Tenerife's busiest nightlife areas.

CEST president Javier Cabrera said the operation demonstrated that the authorities could respond firmly and effectively, but called for continued policing to restore and maintain the levels of security expected in the south of the island.

The business association argues that security is particularly important to the economy of southern Tenerife because of its dependence on tourism.

It warned that perceptions of insecurity could have consequences extending beyond individual incidents, potentially affecting businesses, employment, investment and the confidence of residents and visitors.

CEST therefore wants preventative policing and controls to be maintained over time, particularly in areas with the highest concentrations of tourists and nightlife venues.

Javier Cabrera, president of CEST in south Tenerife (Image: CEST).

The comments follow the large-scale National Police operation carried out between Friday evening and the early hours of Saturday in the Golden Mile and Veronicas areas of Playa de Las Américas.

The operation began at around 8:00pm on Friday with controls in Avenida de Las Américas before moving into the Veronicas ‘strip’ from around 2:00am.

During the main Las Verónicas phase, 130 uniformed officers and 25 plain-clothes officers were deployed.

By the end of the operation, police had arrested six people, identified 494, checked 38 vehicles and issued 40 proposed sanctions for breaches of Spain's public security legislation. Twelve foreign nationals were also identified as being in an irregular immigration situation.

Police said the operation was organised in response to an increase in criminal activity and was intended to prevent serious offences while protecting commercial, tourism and nightlife activity.

CEST now wants that level of attention to translate into a longer-term security strategy rather than relying on occasional major deployments.

For businesses in the south, the organisation says maintaining Tenerife's reputation as a safe destination is fundamental to the area's tourism economy and to residents, workers and visitors being able to use its commercial and nightlife areas with confidence.