Recently the governor of Lanzarote has announced she wants to ditch the island's dependence on British tourists.This of course has caused uproar amongst the the 2.5 million tourists - more than half of them Brits - who travel to...
Recently the governor of Lanzarote has announced she wants to ditch the island's dependence on British tourists.
This of course has caused uproar amongst the the 2.5 million tourists - more than half of them Brits - who travel to the Canary Islands for some much needed sunshine - something we are sorely deprived of in the Northern Hemisphere.
The island plan is to reduce the number of British tourists, but to "increase spending in the destination so that they generate greater wealth in the economy as a whole."
Growth would therefore be expected in the French, Italian, and Dutch markets.
So is it that the islands can attract more of the "wrong" kind of tourist - groups of hen/stag parties looking for cheap booze and rowdy nights out rather than those interested in culture and history?
Certain resorts in Spain and the Canaries have definitely encouraged them with English pubs and fish and chip restaurants, but it's hard to see how they're going to encourage more continental clientele. Or even whether the clubs, restaurants, hotel and bar owners will want to see their profits plummet.
So has tourism ruined places of outstanding natural beauty?
A couple of years ago I joined a "Going to Hawaii" Facebook Group before a trip there. I was horrified to read several posts from locals telling tourists (not just Brits, I might add) to "stay away" because they were ruining those beautiful islands, with large corporations taking over the tourist attractions, and pushing out the locals.
When we eventually got there, however, the locals were very friendly, the islands were pristine and we saw no signs of damage. All of the tours we took part in were focussed on ensuring that natural habitats were not disturbed and we there was no destruction to wildlife, nor rubbish left behind - even our sun lotion had to be ocean friendly!
That most definitely isn't the case in Santorini, recently voted the most popular holiday destination for Brits. We have been visiting the island for almost 25 years and until the last few years, we have seen little change. Cruise ships docking into the port were limited some years ago, to cut down pollution but there are no high-rise hotels, and very few new builds, though tourism has certainly increased, along with fast food restaurants in the capital Thira having multiplied exponentially. Visitors flock to Oia to watch the stunning sunset - if you can get anywhere near to see it. Sadly, along with that come mountains of rubbish, especially plastic bottles.
And on our last visit, the sleepy village of Megalachori had a bus load of American tourists marching along the single track main road - something never seen before. While in the small beach resort of Perissa, two smart new beachside hotels seem to have overloaded the drainage system, creating quite an unpleasant smell. Loud pop music blares out from beach bars in Perivolous and also in the capital, which comes alive at night after the ships have departed.
As tourism has increased, so have the prices. Happily though, this is not an island which encourages cheap booze and hen/stag parties, rather this is more a couples destination, which we hope will deter those looking for sun, sand and a bit of the other!
So are the Spanish right to start managing tourists, and does that mean that travel will be priced out of range for most families in the future?
We have always been responsible tourists - if that isn't a misnomer. Yes, taking planes across the world pollutes the planet, but I can't help thinking that our airmile footprints are infinitesimally small when compared with industries in China, India, Russia and the US. And we do try and look after our own local environment with recycling, eating less meat, and walking wherever possible.
However, that said,I realise that we are a long way from being carbon neutral and many tourist countries rely on visitors for their own survival. Will we be holidaying abroad again this year? Yes, but I hope we do so with respect for the local environments and populations.
