British holidaymakers have hit back at anti-tourist graffiti in Tenerife by saying half of the island’s restaurants would be closed if it wasn’t for them.
Anti-tourist protest marches are due to take place on the Canary Islands including Tenerife and Lanzarote on April 20 to highlight problems such as the lack of affordable housing they claim are caused by Airbnb-style holiday rentals.
Activists and environmentalists in the Canary Islands have warned that locals are being forced to live in their cars – and even caves – due to the impact of major tourism operators who are ‘consuming the island’.
Canarians have resorted to desperate measures to limit the number of tourists frequenting local beauty spots, spraying anti-tourism graffiti and erecting fake ‘closed due to overcrowding’ signs to ward off holidaymakers.
Yet Brits in Tenerife have slammed the criticism, saying without them the local economy would crash.
British holidaymakers have hit back at anti-tourist graffiti in Tenerife by saying half of the island’s restaurants would be closed if it wasn’t for them. Pictured: Two women drinking shots in a Tenerife bar
Protest marches are due to take place on the Canary Islands including Tenerife and Lanzarote on April 20
Yet British teaching assistant Ellie Taylor, 20, said: ‘We’re good for their economy. Half the restaurants would not be open if it wasn’t for us’
A wave of new anti-tourism graffiti has popped up near resorts in Tenerife over the past few days, with messages reading ‘tourists go home’ and ‘too many guiris’
The holiday resort made headline news last month after a series of graffiti messages were scrawled on walls and buildings, reading ‘tourists go home’