Canary islands protests backfire as it reports ‘record-breaking’ tourist numbers

UK TOURISTS MAKE UP THE LARGEST MARKET WHEN IT COMES TO FOREIGN VISTIORS, ACCORDIND TO THE LATEST DATA 14:02, 03 Jun 2025 The Canary Islands are on track to experience record-breaking

visitor numbers in 2025, according to the latest figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute (INE). Between January and April this year the holiday destination welcomed 5.7million

international visitors, an increase of 4.2 per cent compared to 2024, equating to around 240,000 more tourists. In April, 1.32 million visitors arrived in the Canary Islands, an 11.9 per

cent increase on the previous year. According to Canarian Weekly, if this trend continues the holiday destination is “on course to surpass last year’s historic record of 15.2 million foreign

visitors, potentially exceeding it by more than half a million.” The record-breaking visitor numbers come despite several anti-mass tourism protests taking place across the Canary Islands.

Article continues below Two major demonstrations happened in April and October last year, while around 23,000 people participated in a protest held in May this year. Residents have called on

the government to introduce a more sustainable tourism model, more measures to protect the environment and limits on the number of visitors. Canarian Weekly comments that the rise in

tourist numbers is “fuelling tensions” across the islands with protestors arguing that the Canaries are “not a theme park”. But according to the statistics, tourist spending has also

increased. In April 2025, international visitors spent a total of €1.92 billion in the Canary Islands, a 15.2per cent increase compared to April 2024. Over the first four months of the year,

total expenditure reached €8.79 billion, which accounts for 25.6 per cent of all international tourist spending in Spain - showing that important role tourism plays in the Canary Island’s

tourism economy. Article continues below Data also shows that tourists from the UK make up the majority of the market, with over 1.6million British holidaymakers descending upon the Canary

Islands this year so far, an increase of 11.1 per cent. Germany and France follow closely behind, with around 1.3 million tourists from each visiting the Canaries. FOR MORE OF TODAY'S

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