british tourists warned canary islands beaches

British tourists warned to avoid certain Canary Islands beaches

British tourists face new travel warnings over Canary Islands beaches

British tourists heading to the Canary Islands now face another hurdle. Exactly a year after the well-known ‘No List’ from Fodor’s Travel put the islands on notice over mounting pressure on the territory, Britain’s biggest tabloid, The Sun, is now telling readers to steer clear of certain beaches.

Ecologists in Action issues ‘black flag’ warnings

Last month, Ecologists in Action distributed its usual ‘Black Flags’ (Banderas Negras), designating the most serious cases of pollution, environmental degradation and poor management along the Spanish coastline each year. In this latest round, four locations in the Canary Islands were singled out: Cuna del Alma, Las Teresitas, the marine cages of Telde and the cruise ships of Arrecife.

The Sun highlights 14 beaches to avoid this summer

This is what prompted the most widely read English-language newspaper to dedicate a feature to the so-called “14 black flag beaches in Spain you should avoid this summer”, warning tourists travelling to the Canary Islands and various parts of mainland Spain about the sites flagged by the environmental organisation. The article states that “some of the beaches mentioned suffer from chemical spills, defective sanitation and purification problems, as well as chemical, light or noise pollution.”

The paper particularly highlights well-established tourist destinations. Among those listed are Las Teresitas beach in Tenerife, Maro beach in Málaga, Sant Adrià del Besòs in Barcelona, Port de Pollença in Mallorca and the Cala Galdana ravine in Menorca.

British media scrutiny but tourist numbers keep rising

This is not the first time the British press has turned its attention to the impact of tourism on the Canary Islands. Yet despite this, these warnings do not appear to be deterring travellers from the United Kingdom, who continue to lead the growth in visitor numbers to the archipelago. The ‘Tourists go home’ slogans daubed on walls across the islands have only accompanied a 6.7% rise in British tourists in June.

Shift towards holiday rentals adds to paradox

However, this increase comes alongside a change in accommodation habits, with more and more visitors opting for holiday lets rather than traditional hotels and apartments. This has placed the Canary Islands as the fourth region in Europe with the highest number of overnight stays in tourist flats. The contrast reflects an increasingly evident paradox. While warnings about tourist pressure and environmental damage in some parts of the archipelago increase, British demand continues to grow and, moreover, with a greater preference for holiday rentals, a model that fuels much of the debate over tourist saturation in the Canary Islands.

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