The current course being pursued by political leaders in the Canary Islands is steering the archipelago full steam ahead towards populism. The new calls for the expansion of the Canary Islands‘ airports show that politicians either fail to understand the signs of the times or are deliberately ignoring them in favour of the money that comes with it. Either would be a mistake.
The mass protests against mass tourism in the Canary Islands were a clear outpouring of frustration from local residents. And, at heart, they are right. For the Canary Islands are, in fact, becoming overburdened.
Crowded streets, more sewage than the treatment plants can cope with, and a demand for housing that is driving up prices to levels unseen in many regions with significantly higher incomes. These are just the most obvious problems associated with the current course of action. And this has consequences.
The Canary Islands face the populism trap
For the Canary Islands have brought all this upon themselves. And these are merely the negative aspects of tourism, without considering the positives. Yet this is precisely what is driving more and more people into the clutches of political parties that rarely offer solutions, but are all too happy to highlight problems. One thing remains above all else: growing frustration amongst local residents.
More and more often, people are protesting in their home countries for greater ‚freedom of expression‘ without facing any consequences. What they often mean by this is being allowed to make sweeping judgements or pass (pre-emptive) judgements without having to face any backlash. It seems rather bizarre when those same people, whilst on holiday in the Canary Islands, complain that exactly the same thing is happening to them there.
It remains unequivocally wrong when individual protesters, out of misguided frustration, forget that the demonstrations are directed against mass tourism and explicitly not against individual tourists. Yet this is precisely what happens when loudmouths across Europe gradually push the boundaries of what can be said – in the belief that exactly that is freedom of expression.
The Canary Islands should deliberately scale back tourism
Politicians in the Canary Islands are currently making a major mistake. The islands reacted with displeasure to the announcement by Spain’s airport operator Aena that it intended to invest one billion euros in Brazilian airports. Calls were immediately made to expand the Canary Islands‘ own airports instead.
It’s like a row between toddlers in a sandpit over which has the bigger mould. For whilst the airports on the Canary Islands have reached their limit, so too has the rest of the archipelago. It is therefore time to stop expanding the points of entry, so that money does not flow abroad. On the contrary, perhaps they should even be deliberately scaled back.
Just as with the tragic example of housing, a natural limit must also be recognised and accepted in the case of tourism. This could ensure that the remaining places are marketed more effectively. The Canary Islands should no longer try to attract every tourist at any cost, but should move as quickly as possible from mass tourism to high-quality tourism.
The Canary Islands need this shift in tourism
This will leave some holidaymakers behind, as they will no longer be able to afford a holiday in the Canary Islands. But, to be honest, this is already happening today. And many of those who come anyway never want to return. After all, they are all too familiar with traffic jams and crowded city centres from their everyday lives.
When it comes to holidays, more and more people are looking for something different from what the Canary Islands have been turning into since the crisis. Nevertheless, every effort continues to be made to accommodate even more visitors. The Canary Islands‘ politicians just can’t get enough. And it’s the local residents who have to pay the price.
No comments on this article yet.