'If you truly care about the Canaries, stay away'

Holidaymakers hit by protests

- Adam Toms

THOUSANDS of protesters yesterday called on British tourists to go home as marches took place across the Canary Islands and mainland Spain.

Organisers had been expecting up to 132,000 people to tun out in Santa Cruz, Tenerife’s capital, alone.

It is thought that around 40,000 attended a march in Lanzarote.

Carla Henriquez, 38, a surfer and photographer, stressed that the island would welcome Britons back once key issues, such as high rents, low wages and sewage outflows into the sea, have been resolved.

She returned to the island in 2017 after working for three years in the Australian tourism industry, which she said protects the environment better. She added that Tenerife’s economic model was “unsustainable and deeply harmful” and “based on quantity over quality”.

She said: “Last year we received 18 million tourists and we are still the poorest region of Spain.