Jet2’s CEO has warned the Canary Islands to stop playing a ‘dangerous game’ and end the ongoing anti-tourism protests in Spain before holidaymakers take their money elsewhere.
Steve Heapy issued the alert at Spain‘s International Tourism Trade Fair, saying: ‘Anti-tourism protests and derogatory comments from local administrations make tourists feel unwelcome.
‘People don’t come to the Canaries to be mistreated or to witness protests’.
The warning follows a summer of major demonstrations across Spain’s popular resorts, with anger particularly mounting over mass tourism.
‘Anti-tourism protests and derogatory comments from local administrations make tourists feel unwelcome,’ Heapy added.
‘People don’t come to the Canaries to be mistreated or to witness protests’.
He warned that such incidents tarnish the region’s image and push tourists toward destinations like Turkey and Morocco ‘where they feel valued’.
‘Not everyone is rich, and many tourists simply want an affordable and relaxing holiday. If they feel unwanted, they’ll look elsewhere,’ he said.
Heapy addressed the town of Mogan on the Canary Islands, where a tourist tax has been introduced.
A €0.15 (£0.13) per person per day fee applies for visitors staying in hotels, apartments, and holiday homes.
Mr Heapy said that this tax could set a ‘dangerous precedent’ and potentially deter tourists from visiting in the future.
He said: ‘Rising taxes drive up the overall cost of holidays, reducing demand. While Mogan’s tax is small, it sets a dangerous precedent.
‘Governments need to enforce existing regulations and focus on controlling illegal rentals rather than penalising compliant operators.
‘They should also work with airlines and tour operators to promote the Canary Islands in key markets like the UK.’
His stark comments come after anti-tourism protests were held in a number of holiday hotspots across Spain, where threatening graffiti has also been spotted.
A recent protest erupted in October after hundreds of demonstrators stormed Tenerife’s Troya beach, where sun-seeking holidaymakers were stunned to be disrupted by a placard-waving mob yelling slogans such as ‘More tourists, more misery’ and ‘the Canary Islands are not for sale’.
Protesters descended on the beach, one of the most popular in Las Americas (Tenerife), with many beating on drums and blowing whistles as they walked along the shoreline.
Astonishing footage of the incident showed holidaymakers being surrounded and penned in by Spanish locals while they were sunbathing in swim shorts and bikinis.
There were no reports of any violence, but protesters, whose banners included one in English which said ‘Go Home Tourist’ are said to have been mocked and taunted.
Half a dozen activists also went on hunger strike outside a church in the northern Tenerife town of La Laguna last year.
It began on April 11, 2024, and was called off after 20 days.
Victor Martin, a spokesman for Canarias Se Agota which translates into English as ‘Canary Islands on the Brink, said before it started: ‘The hunger strike is indefinite and will continue until the two macro hotel projects we’re fighting against are stopped for ever and the regional agreement agrees in writing to sit down and talk to us about a tourist moratorium.
‘A tragedy could occur and someone could die if the government doesn’t listen.’
The hunger strikers wanted authorities to halt two tourist projects, one involving the construction of a five-star hotel by one of Tenerife’s last virgin beaches called La Tejita.
They also wanted local and regional politicians to change the tourist model to protect the island from the worst excesses of mass tourism including sea pollution, traffic gridlock and lack of cheap affordable housing linked to the pushing-up of property prices because of Airbnb-style holiday lets.
On July 27 around 250 protesters impeded tourist access to a picture-postcard Menorcan beach in a ‘surprise action’.
Activists boasted of filling a car park by Cala Turqueta, a beautiful cove on the island’s southern coast, with ‘residents’ cars’.
They then used towels and their own bodies to shape the message ‘SOS Menorca’ on the sand by the waterline.
And last year, when the Canary Islands were the focus of anti-mass tourism protests hotel bosses there admitted British holidaymakers were calling to ask if they would be safe.
Activists are continuing to demand the government make a change to prevent the number of tourists visiting the holiday hotspot amid soaring rents.
It comes as Spain is also set to impose a 100 per cent tax on non-EU citizens buying homes in the country as it moves to prioritise housing availability for locals.
