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Looking to book our first trip to Tenerife in Jan 2025 ideally looking for Airbnbs in whatever the equivalent of Fuertaventura’s Corralejo is on Tenerife.
What are current thoughts and advice around the anti tourism sentiment on the island? Is it just British newspapers rable rousing and amplifying a small minority on the island?
If it were just my wife and I going I wouldn’t be concerned but it’s a group holiday of 3 couples and a 7 year old and for those other couples it could be their only trip of the year so I don’t want to make an avoidable misstep when Corralejo would still be warm enough, if not quite as interesting.
Tenerife doesn’t really have any beaches like Corralejo, if that’s what you’re after.
Personally, I imagine the “anti-tourism” thing is being massively over-hyped by the likes of the Daily Express, and any dissent will consist of a bit of graffiti, or a small demonstration in one of the larger towns (which aren’t in the tourist areas anyway). People who actually work in tourism, which are an awful lot of them in Spain, absolutely don’t want tourists to stay away.
I was in Malaga in February, where similar “protests” have been reported, and the only demonstration we saw the whole time was a small number of rail workers marching about their working conditions.
In any case, as a family group with a child, you’ll be treated very differently from a group of 20-somethings!
Thanks, that’s helpful and sort of what I thought.
While I love FV beaches the other couples won’t be bothered about that too much, more about exploring an hiking. We just really like Corralejo as a town, touristy enough to get all the benefits but not so much that it’s ruined.
In any case, as a family group with a child, you’ll be treated very differently from a group of 20-somethings!
That’s a good point 🤣
Looking to book our first trip to Tenerife in Jan 2025 ideally looking for Airbnbs in whatever the equivalent of Fuertaventura’s Corralejo is on Tenerife.
What are current thoughts and advice around the anti tourism sentiment on the island? Is it just British newspapers rable rousing and amplifying a small minority on the island?
If it were just my wife and I going I wouldn’t be concerned but it’s a group holiday of 3 couples and a 7 year old and for those other couples it could be their only trip of the year so I don’t want to make an avoidable misstep when Corralejo would still be warm enough, if not quite as interesting.
I think the local people are really peed off with their governments, rather than tourists. However to make their voices heard they are having to parade about the place with ‘tourists go home’ type banners. If as they say hospitality staff are having to sleep in their cars and shower in un-let properties there is definitely something wrong somewhere.
People keep saying it’s just the Brit press tying one on, but there has to be some basis for what they are printing
I personally think this has been made much worse by air BnB’s so won’t use them myself, but that’s just my personal perspective.
I’m no expert on the Canaries only having been a few times, but I think it also might be a bit resort dependant so maybe pick one of the quieter resorts or go up to the North of the Island which is supposed to be more upmarket.
The north is lovely but the weather can be quite unpredictable and they get a fair bit of cloud and rain, so bear that in mind.
As Misty says, the grievance is mostly with the government – and the Spanish know that any attempt to scare off the lucrative tourists will cause panic at higher levels and possibly result in action being taken.
Spain is still a relatively poor country with shocking levels of youth unemployment and a fair amount of corruption which doesn’t help.
We spent a very cold, wet and miserable week in the north in Tenerife some years ago. Pool went unused, woolly jumpers on.
Drove back to the airport and met the blazing sunshine…I live near Malaga and this anti-tourist story is just nonsense.. Yes I agree that p!ssed up brits are a pain in the behind but there is no real traction here to stop tourists coming. Tenerife may be different but it seems more likley its a small minority making lots of noise and the media whipping it up.
Worry not.
The problem isn’t just about drunken louts, something being addressed in various ways by resorts all over Spain and its islands. The bigger issue is the number of homes becoming holiday lets driving up rents to unaffordable levels for local people. There is also a problem of tourists in these holiday lets maybe not being yobs, but nevertheless not respecting the niceties of living amongst locals. This is not just a problem in Spain but right across Europe and it is very bad in many UK coastal towns.
Obviously none of the people working in hospitality want to drive away tourists because that’s their livelihood but something has to give when those workers can’t afford to live near where they work and young families are driven out of their home towns.
You say there isn’t a problem around Malaga but the anti tourist sticker campaign there has been widely reported in the Spanish and international press. It seems like they are hoping to organise a protest like the ones in the Canaries as well.
Anecdotally, more and more people seem to be using Air B & B, VRBO etc, which of course is driving the problem, but understandable given the current state of hotel pricing. I’ve never booked with either as they seem to be able to leave you in the lurch at short notice if they feel like it!
Apologies Northern Lass I clicked report instead of quote (embarrassed face)
All I was going to say is I never book air B & B etc for the same reasons. I knew someone who lived in Menorca long term and hospitality staff have been living in clapped out cars and using unlet villas/pools to wash in for years, so I don’t think this is a new problem, local governments have just kind of ignored it so the tourist dollars keep rolling in.
The other issue apparently is that if owners with houses let to locals the legislation is so biased towards renters that landlords can never get people out of properties even if they default, it takes years and Euros to take them through the courts and often comes to nothing.
Understandably owners like the idea of folk staying for a week or two and then hot footing it back to England, Germany, Scandi etc. I think the boozed up Brits & other nations thing is really not a thing at all, in most places I’ve stayed over many many years, it’s such a minority it’s nothing to do with this more complex issue.
Anecdotally, more and more people seem to be using Air B & B, VRBO etc, which of course is driving the problem, but understandable given the current state of hotel pricing. I’ve never booked with either as they seem to be able to leave you in the lurch at short notice if they feel like it!
It’s not only price, but having much more space and getting away from the sameyness and dullness of chain hotels. Unless you need a spa etc. Airbnb etc. is often a much better and cheaper solution for families and everyone can have their own rooms etc. We use these rentals a lot now and have had some minor issues, but nothing serious.
In a large Argentinian provincial city last month the two best hotels were an oldish Sheraton or a newish HGI in not great locations, so we booked a newly built two bed apartment in a great location which we found on booking.com but booked directly for ½ price. No breakfast offered but a 10% discount offered next door which turned out to have a cooked breakfast at least as good if not better than any hotel breakfast we have ever had – £25 for five people including tip. Our next stop en route to final destination was another rental, very new three bed house with big garden and roof terrace, fantastic views for a fraction of any hotel cost.
@Misty – I agree they are two separate issues. I think as well, a certain section of Spanish society was very annoyed by Brexit and the potential impact on the EU largesse they have become accustomed to receiving, so it was easy to stir up resentment against the Brits. And if you speak to Spanish people, they are often even more resentful about Eastern Europeans and North Africans coming in and taking jobs! Not to mention Dutch/Irish/Russian gangsters plying their trades and murdering one another on the Costas. The tabloids aren’t too interested in that, though, so we get a very lopsided picture of Spain’s only problem being UK tourists!
@JDB, but what if your Airbnb was depriving a local person of a home?!@NorthernLass – you, more than anyone, know that I am part of the problem in all matters and in this instance not part of the solution! It’s probably by chance, but we have found that most of our rentals belong to local people rather than some Mr Big invading their town/area and it often is richer locals vs poorer locals and the reality is one can make far more letting a property to tourists than to locals and you don’t have the legal complications identified above if a tenancy goes sour. An odd exception to local ownership was a wonderful Airbnb in Teesdale in a converted Methodist chapel that belonged to a Swiss woman; we never discovered why she had a house in the middle of nowhere.
@Misty – I agree they are two separate issues. I think as well, a certain section of Spanish society was very annoyed by Brexit and the potential impact on the EU largesse they have become accustomed to receiving, so it was easy to stir up resentment against the Brits. And if you speak to Spanish people, they are often even more resentful about Eastern Europeans and North Africans coming in and taking jobs! Not to mention Dutch/Irish/Russian gangsters plying their trades and murdering one another on the Costas. The tabloids aren’t too interested in that, though, so we get a very lopsided picture of Spain’s only problem being UK tourists!
@JDB, but what if your Airbnb was depriving a local person of a home?!I still don’t understand why places like Spain were upset when we left the EU, I can’t see how it has an impact on their economy, the Spanish virtually invented mass tourism in the 1960’s and there was no way people were going to stop going there just because we left the EU. in fact a lot of places did very well out of us as we were nett contributors.
I’ve been to Greece 4 times since we left the EU and they are still as hospitable to us as they have always been, maybe they are more laid back or have more respect for their tourists.
Admittedly the last place in Spain I stayed was Cartagena so not too touristy, but going to Pollenca in Mallorca in the summer so will be interested to see if attitudes have changed towards us.
@Misty a lot of countries including Spain were disappointed we left because we were seen as a bulwark against the Franco-German axis that bullied other countries into submission. Our free market, non interventionist stance and pragmatic solutions were quite popular in many quarters. Things have changed as Germany’s political clout has waned and France has a lot of domestic issues.
From the sounds of it we are pretty safe to book a trip in Jan, will be for the south as I don’t want to be rained out!
On the topic of Airbnb etc (not that I’m really qualified but hey this is the internet so why let that stop us?🤪) . Holiday rentals have been a thing since well before Airbnb, so I have no qualms using the service. When you look at the stats on somewhere like Barcelona, only 3% of residencies are short term lets. So I don’t think it’s really the problem. 15 years of absurdly low interest rates, stagnant wages and not building enough housing is the problem.
I’m confident I bring more economic value as an Airbnb tourist than I do as a hotel tourist or not visiting these places at all.
If hotels actually built what people want, essentially small family units, then the demand for Airbnb et al would dry up. Instead hotels are charging more and more for less and less.
@Misty, @JDB makes a good point, but you also have to remember that the UK was a net contributor to the EU, which hands out mountains of cash to poorer member states (billions of euros of which also happen to be embezzled and never recovered in some of those states), so Brexit was very much seen as the goose that lays the golden egg slamming the barn door shut, as it were.
Every year, a report like this comes out, but nothing ever seems to change:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/billions-euros-eu-funds-misspent-error-fraud-cases-up-auditors-2022-10-12/#:~:text=More%20than%205%20billion%20euros%20%28%244.85%20billion%29%20of,the%20money%20while%20cases%20of%20suspect%20fraud%20increased.
@simonbarker, yes but there’s reality and there’s perception, and for the government departments which don’t rely on tourism, it’s convenient to direct the narrative of hostility towards tourists!Definitely base yourself in the south as there are many pleasant areas outside the mass tourism hubs like Playa de Las Americas), but make sure you visit Teide national park, Santa Cruz, Garachico and the pyramids of Guimar. Give yourself a full day for Teide, the 7 year old might not be up to much hiking but the drive around the volcano is spectacular with lots of viewing points where you can park up and marvel!
@Misty a lot of countries including Spain were disappointed we left because we were seen as a bulwark against the Franco-German axis that bullied other countries into submission. Our free market, non interventionist stance and pragmatic solutions were quite popular in many quarters. Things have changed as Germany’s political clout has waned and France has a lot of domestic issues.
I didn’t consider the Franco-German axis, as a reason for Spain etc wanting us to be in the EU to find a form of balance. anecdotally last week we were in Madeira, our hotel sent a car for us to the airport, on the journey to the hotel, one of the first things my OH said was,’Hmmm I can smell EU money here’, he was referring to the roads which seemed to be in very good condition, rightly or wrongly we assumed the Portuguese government wouldn’t have had the wherewithal to invest in them.
@simonbarker sorry to have taken this off-topic, I think you will be fine in Tenerife, especially if you follow Northern Lass’ advice above. I hope you and your friends have a great holiday, it would be good if you did a trip report or just updated this thread when you return, so let folk know the reality of this.
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