Canary Islands Overtourism: the Data Behind the Debate (2024–2026)

Executive summary

The Canary Islands have not merely recovered from the pandemic — they have broken every previous tourism record. Official ISTAC figures put 2025 at 18,386,274 tourists, 3.5% above 2024. Against a resident population of 2.26 million, that is roughly eight tourists per resident per year, one of the highest ratios of any European region.

Volume alone is not what makes this contested. Tourism is simultaneously the islands' economic engine — 37.7% of GDP and 42.3% of all jobs — and the pressure behind the housing, water and infrastructure strains residents cite when they march. The debate is not "tourism yes or no", but how much, of what kind, and who benefits.

• Protests: 57,200 participants on 20 April 2024; 23,190 on 18 May 2025 (Government Delegation counts)
• Housing: the grievance protesters cite most often — tourism-driven prices and short-term rentals
• Water: drought emergencies declared on several islands, with desalination capacity expanding
• Policy shift: from "sustainable" to "regenerative" tourism, plus the first municipal tourist tax

Visitor statistics

The recovery outpaced most European destinations. Crucially for the overtourism argument, 2025 did not merely return to the pre-pandemic norm — it exceeded the 2017 peak of 15.96 million by roughly 15%. Air capacity tells the same story: Aena handled 54,753,915 passengers Cruise traffic is counted separately: see Canary Islands cruise passengers. across the Canary airports in 2025, 3.6% more than 2024.

For the official monthly series behind these annual figures, see the monthly statistics dashboard and the 10-year evolution analysis.

Source markets

In October 2025, for example, ISTAC recorded that 36.2% of arrivals — 574,317 people — came from the United Kingdom, 14.6% from Germany and 10.9% from mainland Spain. That concentration is itself part of the policy debate: heavy dependence on one or two markets leaves the islands exposed to a downturn in either.

Island performance

The archipelago-wide average of eight tourists per resident hides a sharp gradient. The two capital islands have large permanent populations that absorb visitor numbers; the eastern islands do not. That is why the intensity of the debate does not track raw visitor counts — Lanzarote receives a third of Tenerife's tourists but carries far more of them per resident.

For the official per-island monthly series, see Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and La Palma, or the Gran Canaria vs Tenerife comparison.

Economic impact

Two separate official sources point the same way. Exceltur's IMPACTUR study puts tourism GDP at €23,375M in 2025 — 37.7% of the regional economy — supporting 413,064 direct and indirect jobs, or 42.3% of all employment in the islands. ISTAC's tourism expenditure survey puts total tourist spending at €23,185M in 2025, up 3.9%, at an average of €178.16 per tourist per day.

Sources: Exceltur, IMPACTUR Canarias 2024 & 2025 advance · ISTAC tourism expenditure survey, 2025.

Sustainability crisis & strategic response

The “Canarias tiene un límite” platform has called three archipelago-wide demonstrations: 20 April 2024, 20 October 2024 and 18 May 2025. According to counts from the Government Delegation in the Canary Islands, the April 2024 protest drew 57,200 people — around 30,000 in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 14,000 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and 9,000 in Arrecife — while organisers claimed close to 100,000. The May 2025 edition drew 23,190 by the same official count.

The trajectory matters for anyone reading the headlines: turnout has fallen sharply since the 2024 peak even as visitor numbers keep rising. The movement's demands have also sharpened — from generalised anger about "mass tourism" to specific asks on housing, short-term rentals and a tourist levy.

• Housing: the grievance cited most consistently — rising prices and holiday-let conversion in resort municipalities
• Water: drought emergencies on several islands, with desalination and distribution investment expanding
• Infrastructure: roads, waste and water networks sized for a far smaller visitor base

Protest figures: Government Delegation in the Canary Islands, as reported by Euronews and Press Digital.

In November 2024 the regional government announced a shift from "sustainable tourism" to "regenerative tourism" — an approach that goes beyond minimising harm to actively restoring environmental and social systems. In practice, the most concrete measure so far has come from a municipality rather than the region: Mogán, in Gran Canaria, introduced the first tourist levy in the Canary Islands in 2025 at €0.15 per person per night, raising €662,426 in its first six months.

Innovation & emerging trends

La Palma — a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve certified as a Starlight Tourist Destination — has become a global astrotourism leader, offering some of the world's clearest night skies and professional-grade astronomical facilities. Digital-nomad hubs in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz benefit from the GMT timezone, high-speed internet and a 24% fixed tax rate under the Beckham Law.

Infrastructure investment

AENA's plan includes €550M for Tenerife Sur through 2031 (terminal capacity expansion) and €250M for Tenerife Norte (runway and terminal upgrades with sustainability features). Climate-adaptation spending targets the water supply — critical given the longest drought since 1961 — and a gradual transition away from near-total oil dependency.

Source: AENA official announcements.

Future projections

Meeting demand sustainably is projected to require €2–3B in infrastructure over 2025–2030, supporting 350K+ tourism jobs by 2030. Three strategic priorities recur across official planning: market diversification (reducing 40%+ UK dependency via Nordic and Eastern European campaigns), demographic targeting (millennials and Gen Z through digital-nomad programs), and tourism distribution (shifting toward higher elevations and the northern islands as the climate warms).

Key takeaways

Frequently asked questions

Are the Canary Islands suffering from overtourism?

By the standard measure — visitors per resident — the pressure is real and among Europe's highest: 18.39 million tourists in 2025 against 2.26 million residents, about eight to one, rising to roughly 19 to one in Lanzarote. Whether that constitutes "overtourism" is contested locally: the same activity produces 37.7% of GDP and 42.3% of employment. What is not contested is that residents have repeatedly demonstrated over housing costs, water and infrastructure.

Are tourists still welcome in the Canary Islands in 2026?

Yes. The protest movement has consistently framed its demands as being about the tourism model — housing, wages, environmental limits and how revenue is distributed — rather than against visitors themselves. Demonstrations have been peaceful, are not aimed at individual travellers, and turnout has fallen since the 2024 peak. Visitors are not the target of any restriction, and arrivals in 2026 remain close to record levels.

Is there a tourist tax in the Canary Islands?

There is no archipelago-wide tourist tax. The municipality of Mogán (Gran Canaria) introduced the first local levy in 2025 at €0.15 per person per night, collecting €662,426 in its first six months. A region-wide levy is debated regularly but has not been adopted.

How much of the Canary Islands' economy is tourism?

According to Exceltur's IMPACTUR study, tourism generated €23,375M in 2025 — 37.7% of regional GDP — and supported 413,064 jobs, 42.3% of all employment. Tourism has driven 47.6% of the islands' economic growth since 2019.

How many tourists visit the Canary Islands per year?

18,386,274 in 2025, the all-time record, up 3.5% on 2024 — see the monthly statistics dashboard for the current series.

Sources & references

Where a figure is an estimate rather than a published exact value, it is labelled as such in the text. Arrival counts are ISTAC "main tourists", which exclude inter-island trips — see our methodology page.