By Bond Robertson 
While tourists were enjoying the sun by the pool, a group of activists recently stormed the Sandos Papagayo hotel on Playa Blanca in Lanzarote, emptying the water from the pool in protest.
Through numerous posters and brochures, they harshly criticized both overtourism and the authorities' inaction to ensure water supplies and regulate illegal hotel businesses.
It is the activist group “Lanzarote Tiene un límite”, which can be translated as “Lanzarote has its limits”, that is behind the measure they believe is necessary to highlight the increasing pressure the tourism industry is putting on the island's resources.
Many close the doors
I think they are under pressure
according to Canary newspaperwho first reported the protest, the Canary Islands Supreme Court has twice ordered the demolition of the Sandos Papagayo hotel. However, the hotel continued to remain open.
No measures were taken to stop operations, although the court also declared the building permit illegal.
Illegal: Activists also distributed leaflets informing them that the hotel, according to their claim, was operating without a legal building permit. Photo: Instagram
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The hotel has not yet commented on the action, which is part of a larger campaign against mass tourism in the Canary Islands.
Activists from Lanzarote Have Limits also stress that excessive tourism contributes to the weakening of basic services such as water supply, and that local residents are being pushed out of the housing market due to high prices.
For longer: – it only gets higher
He chained himself
In addition to the campaign against the hotel, the environmental group Tabaiba Collective recently campaigned in the Las Grietas natural area in Lanzarote.
The activists wrote that they chained themselves at the entrance and declared the place “closed” as a symbol of protest against overtourism. Canary newspaper.
The group also encouraged local residents to show opposition to irresponsible tourist behavior, including honking car horns when they see tourists acting recklessly on the roads.
Not the first time
Protests against tourism are not a new phenomenon in the Canary Islands, but they have become more intense in recent years.
The demonstrators claim that the island council is not doing enough to protect the environment and the interests of local residents.
In the past, huge demonstrations have taken place in Las Palmas and Santa Cruz, the capitals of Gran Canaria and Tenerife respectively, where similar concerns over the housing situation and environmental degradation have been highlighted.
Dissatisfaction is particularly high on islands such as Lanzarote, where residents face pressure due to the huge influx of tourists. Activists claim that the tourism industry puts profit before sustainability, leading to the depletion of natural resources and increasing social inequality.