Von Marlis Zoschke
Tourists were welcome in Tenerife even during the Franco dictatorship. I can’t think of a single place where we ever encountered any hostility. That said, we’d already travelled extensively and always took care not to cause offence.
However, the end of the dictatorship in Spain and the opening of the borders brought about major changes for the Canarians. They had a great deal to learn, as many of the locals had not progressed beyond four years of schooling.
Playa La Arena was said to have the most beautiful sandy beach on the island – no wonder, as there were hardly any beaches suitable for swimming. But there was a little shack where they served fresh fish every day, along with a few other bits and bobs. Around midday, the island tour groups were treated to a meal here, and everyone felt as though they’d been sitting at a gala buffet.
In high spirits on the bus through Tenerife
They were always generous with the wine – it didn’t cost much anyway – and as a farewell, there was even a tipple. The coach set off on the return journey with the tourists singing. From 2 pm onwards, we were treated to heavenly silence. Everyone was delighted to have tourists and hoped there would be more coaches.
The construction boom gathered pace and more tourists began to arrive, including some from Eastern Europe. They were rather reserved. The menus were now available in various languages, and one day they were even available in Russian.
The new visitors didn’t stay very long, but they did buy huge quantities of clothes and perfume. They were very quiet and pleasant tourists. Yet they weren’t exactly loved. I never saw them being treated badly, though.
Anti-tourism protests: the main thing is that it stays peaceful
Things only started to get more unsettled as more and more people arrived on the island. For the local population, this was certainly a blessing at first, but over time it became unsettled and noisy. Many flat owners let their flats to friends and acquaintances. Nobody paid any attention to this, and so a lot of tax was ’saved‘.
Nevertheless, we have never heard of there being too many tourists. It is, however, depressing for local people not to be able to find an affordable flat whilst tourist accommodation stands empty. Why aren’t any affordable flats being built for local people?
So no one should be surprised if overtourism drives people onto the streets to protest. The main thing is that it remains peaceful!
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