Bosses at holiday giant TUI have announced they will “tackle the issue head-on” of locals protesting against over-tourism in the Canary Islands by investing in residential housing.
Huge demonstrations from natives angry at a lack of housing have broken out in recent weeks, in the holiday hotspot of Tenerife 120,000 took to the streets to voice their anger at accommodation being snapped up by tourists.
And in Majorca, in the Balearic Islands, more marched against tourism, with many islanders openly calling for expats and visitors to go home.
Many islanders are incensed at what they feel is a lack of provision for locals in terms of housing, which they claim has been taken over by tourists, and that local authorities are more interested in allowing new hotels to be built instead of homes for residents.
The Canarian Weekly reports Sebastian Ebel, CEO of German giant travel company TUI, has now pledged to answer some of the calls of residents.
He said: “We are offering to create living spaces for employees and other residents; we are happy to tackle the issue head-on, it is not our place to dictate how many tourists a destination can accommodate; that is the responsibility of local politicians.”
However, Mr Ebel conceded some of the Spanish islands might be too full this summer, adding: “We might reach capacity limits in the Balearic Islands.”
Mr Ebel’s warning about limits being reached this summer was echoed by politicians in Majorca. Ferran Rosa, of the opposition party Més, said: “Mallorca is no longer overcrowded, Mallorca is experiencing collapse.”
According to Euronews, some five million tourists visit Tenerife annually, with visitors from the UK making up by far the largest contingent.
The hospitality industry in Tenerife accounts for 60 percent of the island’s GDP.
According to data from the Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) the Canary Islands as a whole had 4.3 million visitors this year up to March alone, up by more than 14 percent on last year.
Total spending by tourists hit the £6.6 billion euro mark (£5.5 billion), with March alone accounting for 2.3 billion euros (£1.9 billion), up by 21 percent on last year.