A TENERIFE beauty spot has been marked with anti-tourist graffiti as fuming locals keep telling “low-quality” Brits to go home.
“Canaries have a limit” was plastered in Spanish near the must-see Teide volcano after the island became the first spot of a furious wave against foreign holidaymakers.
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Tenerife particularly has gone to bat against sun-seeking Brits who have called hotels on the island out of fear they may not be safe on their upcoming holidays.
Similar tourist-phobic graffiti was then seen across other Spanish hotspots including Majorca, Barcelona and Lanzarote.
“Canaries have a limit” were also heard and spotted across banners as protesters took to the streets in the Atlantic archipelago on Saturday.
Another message painted on the road said: “Moratoria turistica” – “Tourist moratorium” in English.
Read more on anti-tourist row
The island council’s vice-president Lope Afonso slammed the “vandalism” in an angry message on X, saying: “The Canary Islands might have a limit, but this exceeds it.
“Grievances and demands cannot be transformed into vandalism or attacks on public property and, especially, on our landscape and our natural spaces.
“Teide National Park is a World Heritage Site and deserves care and respect.
“Not everything goes.”
The message came ahead of a botched clean up to remove the graffiti, as it was still visible and readable on Thursday.
Afonso was immediately met with a wave of criticism as locals accused him of failing to protect Tenerife and its natural wonders from the damage caused by tourists.
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In an apparent direct attack on UK holidaymakers, someone replied to Mr Afonso’s message, saying: “Is this tweet a joke? Let everyone publish things about the attacks on natural spaces your Bri-ish friends have done.”
Tenerife-based environmentalist Adrian Flores argued that the National Park, where Mount Teide is located, is a World Heritage Site but hasn’t been treated as such.
He inferred that the park is suffering from the “massification” of tourists, with visitors parking “wherever they want” and people straying off the paths.
One user, flagging up a recent newspaper article about a tourist breaching the rules by camping and cooking in the Teide National Park, said: “This is vandalism and not a s##tty little bit of graffiti on the road, idiot!”
Another wrote: “You have written absolutely nothing about the demands of those of us who have demonstrated in the streets for the defence and sustainability of the Canary Islands, nothing!
“But some fool goes and paints that on the road and you jump like a jack-in-the-box.”
“You have no shame.”
Speaking after the failed clean-up Mr Afonso wrote on X: “Dialogue and debate, yes.
“Vandalism to try to impose, no.
“Let’s continue being an example of freedom, co-existence and civility.”
‘Brits go home’
Earlier this week Tenerife Council president Rosa Davila proposed charging tourists to visit protected natural spaces like Mount Teide.
She is expected to seek backing for a study to approve the charge at a full council meeting tomorrow.
President of the Canary Islands, Fernando Clavijo, also warned that a daily cost for visitors could be on the table.
Tourists visiting the equally popular Balearic islands – including Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza – already pay between one and four euro per day if over 16.
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And unofficial signs reading “closed to tourists” have been plastered around beaches to keep visitors out.
Residents of the sun-soaked destination have said they are “fed-up” of “low quality” Brit tourists who only come for the cheap beer, burgers and sunbathing.
Majorca followed the Canary Islands in the wave of furious locals calling for ‘low-quality’ tourists to stop flocking down to the Spanish paradises.
The tourist-phobic graffiti appeared in a Majorcan neighbourhood which has seen a massive influx of foreign buyers over the years.
The words “Go Home Tourist” were scrawled in English over a wall underneath a real estate promotion billboard in Nou Llevant, where most homes were snapped up by Germans.
Meanwhile, a leading Tenerife politician has urged British and Irish tourists looking for cheap all-inclusive sunshine breaks to go elsewhere for their vacations.
Carlos Tarife, deputy mayor for the island capital Santa Cruz, said holidaymakers interested in staying in their hotels with their mandatory wristbands on should book places like the Dominican Republic instead.
Bitter graffiti reading “My misery your paradise” and “Average salary in Canary Islands is 1,200 euros” have been left on walls and benches across the Spanish paradises since the start of the month.
In an apparent UK backlash, a response left in English on a wall next to a ‘Tourists go home’ message said: “F##k off, we pay your wages.”
Canarias Se Agota, a lead organiser in Saturday’s Canary Islands protests, has insisted it has nothing to do with the graffiti that has appeared in parts of Tenerife over recent weeks.
The group also accused regional politicians of blaming them of tourism-phobia as part of a “dirty tricks” campaign.
They have made demands which include halting two tourist projects, including the construction of a five-star hotel by one of Tenerife’s last virgin beaches, a tourist moratorium and more affordable housing.
TOURIST TRAP
A RISING number of visitors in idyllic holiday hotspots is forcing out locals.
- Important amenities such as post offices and village shops are being disposed of to make way for more houses and cafes for tourists.
- Locals are also struggling to climb on the property ladder as many houses sit empty, being used as second homes and holiday lets.
- In some hotspots this has created a major housing crisis as demand for accommodation and second homes drives house prices sky high.
- Road infrastructure and parking systems often can’t cope with more tourists – leading to traffic chaos and safety concerns.
- The issues see younger families leaving the area, in turn making it harder for community members left behind.
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