The mass tourism demonstration will start this Saturday, April 20th, at midday in Arrecife. Here is the planned route of the march.
Despite a wave of negative, scaremongering articles in the British press this month, there have been no reports of official warnings issued to tourists in relation to the upcoming mass tourism demonstration on April 20th.
Until now, reports on “tourism-phobia” in the Canaries have been based on a few examples of “Tourist Go Home” graffiti on Tenerife, and some insults aimed at passing tourists during a couple of earlier protests on that island, there have been no reports of anti-tourist behaviour on Lanzarote at all.
The organizers of the demonstrations have clarified that their protest is not aimed at tourists, but at over-development and unsustainable growth in the sector, which they claim has contributed to the housing crisis, ecological damage, and other problems.
The President of Lanzarote’s Tourist Federation, Susana Pérez described this Saturday’s demonstration as a “call to order”, highlighting that authorities failed to take action as “the population of Lanzarote has increased 60%, but public services have not matched this.”
The Socialist Party (PSOE) and the Nueva Canarias (NC-BC) parties added their support this week, emphasising that it is a demonstration for “supporting sustainable tourism that is respectful of our territory; a tourism committed not only to quality but also to the progress and well-being of the Canary Islands.”.
The organisers of the march, which bears the slogan “Lanzarote Has a Limit”, have requested political parties and other associations to join the rear of the march, stressing that it should be led by ordinary, anonymous citizens.
The demonstration will gather at the bandstand on Arrecife’s seafront near the Puente de las Bolas at midday on Saturday April 20th and proceed to the Cabildo. Traffic is certain to be suspended along the seafront road, although details have not yet been announced.
UPDATE: We attended the demonstration this today, Saturday April 20th. Read our report here.
