To be surprised Tenerife is overrun with tourists?

My impression of Tenerife having been there loads of times for a winter break. Beautiful 'white' beaches (at least where we go) amazing hotels, Gorgeous clean promenade, brand new top class shopping centre, brilliant boat trips, one of the best water parks in the world, fantastic restaurants & not a drunk in sight. I could go on. Are the haters talking about the same place? 🤔

We went to Tenerife three times in the mid 90s as a young, newly married couple before we had children. We did stay in las Americas but on the fringes. The Veronicas was our idea of hell. We had one of the nicest experiences on holiday that I think I've ever had, and we have travelled quite widely since then.

We went on a boat trip to see the dolphins, and it's an experience I will never forget. Mount Teide was another highlight. Not sure I'd go again now, coming 30 years later, because now as a family with grown up children who still travel with us, we like somewhere that has lots of history, places to see, good shopping, things to do, with a beach as a bonus. Went to Valencia last summer and it ticked all of the boxes!

The resorts which went up in the 60s and 70s in the South of the Island are not very nice. In the 90s, the governments of Tenerife and Gran Canaria decided they wanted to move towards higher quality tourism, and passed a law which permits the construction of new hotels only if they are rated "five stars or higher." Most of these new luxury resorts have been built further up coast from the original resorts in the south, resulting in a north south divide centred on Costa Adeje. If you walk north from Costa Adeje up towards Caleta, or south towards Playa de Las Americas, you will come away with two completely different impressions of the island. Like others have said, Siam park is one of the best water parks in the world. La Laguna is a beautiful town, it reminded me of colonial towns in South America.

I have only ever been there on a cruise stop but thought it could be quite nice if you get away from the tourist parts. The playas look awful.

Yes, DH is a pilot. Every time Tenerife or Ibiza appears on his schedule he groans. Seems to pretty much only be flying to Rhodes or Tenerife at the moment.

I won’t be returning. I had just one too many bad experiences with hospitality staff despite doing my very best to be polite and courteous.

My mum accidentally opened a fan the wrong way (no damage done) and the shop owner literally pushed us out the shop while screaming at us. Of course we apologised but hey ho.

It is very beautiful, sunny and the main tourist towns are really cheap for younger tourists… sonYABU!

Definitely this 😁👍

@TedWilson 🤣🤣🤣 Far from it pal. I repeat - it’s the arsehole of the world …..

Surely the arsehole of the world more resembles Blackpool or Clacton (Jaywick anyone?)

Just to name a couple.

You must live a very sheltered life.

Talking of Ibiza....

Ibiza locals living in cars as party island sees rents soar (bbc.com)

Spain has been inundated with the sorts be it perhaps they actively encouraged that sort to head there for some time in certain parts of spain and now it's back fired and they've had enough.

Well yes, they certainly have encouraged it in certain resorts in Spain and the Spanish islands, Greece, Cyprus etc. Or at least they have chosen to exploit that particular market and build their whole business model around it, so they can hardly be surprised when the nicer, more civilised tourists actively avoid certain resorts. They've created their own monster I suppose.

There was a piece on the news a few weeks ago about Ibiza and rents going up too high and people moving over to the mainland for work as they felt priced out in the tourist areas.
Landlords are renting to seasonal workers.
I can understand why the local people are fed up with all of it.

I'm nervous we are all going to Spain in 3 weeks time and this anti tourist thing has got me worried our first holiday abroad in ages since having the kids will be ruined by hostility.

On the one hand I get it I can only imagine the sort of Brits they have had enough of the beer guts hanging out loud mouthed and just drink non stop and think they own the place and sadly it's given the rest of us Brits the same brush that we are all like it, and Spain has been inundated with the sorts be it perhaps they actively encouraged that sort to head there for some time in certain parts of spain and now it's back fired and they've had enough.

I also use to live somewhere not Cornwall in the UK that was always populated by tourist in the summer months and it drove house prices up for locals which has caused so much tension again another thing I can sympathise with the Spanish how can you compete when someone earns double what you do and is buying up property or renting it out as Air b&bs for tourists.

^Minniliscious · Yesterday 14:48
It’s the arsehole of the world!^

Nasty comment.

The Canary islands are lovely.

Trouble is, people living in tourist destinations are fed up of the crowds, being priced out of housing due to Air B&B etc.

Been to an airport lately? It's dire, horrendous, so busy and crowded.

What with the COL, staycations are the next upcoming "fashion"

no i doubt it has changed radically thanks
it is still sun and sea, where i went, los christianos

Okay thanks for that info. So it sounds as if the Canaries are suffering from all the same things this country's hospitality and blue collar workforce has suffered from in the last 20 years. Globalisation, the inability to compete against cheap foreign labour and the gig economy in general.

I liked our hotel in Tenerife , but the area around it wasn't the best and seemed a bit run down in places. I have only been once though and I admit I wouldn't go back.
If they don't like the tourists being there I'm sure that people will find somewhere else to go instead where they are wanted.
I can understand why the locals may be fed up with it all , but the ones who work in hospitality and make lots of money from it might not feel the same.
It's going to put people off from travelling there.

d’oh 🤦🏼‍♀️😂

My DD works as cabin crew and the passengers on the Tenerife flights and the Alicante (Benidorm) ones etc are far from the worst passengers.

They’re not protesting against tourism, they’re protesting against the exploitation of the island and its people. They want sustainable tourism.

Why is the work situation there precarious? They have all-year-round tourist business.

“Employment is more unstable, with more presence of atypical forms of work, contracts of shorter duration, lower quality of work, lower wages, less bargaining power and higher vulnerability to job loss.”

The 2012 ‘reforms’ meant hospitality and service sectors could be outsourced I.e. workers were dismissed and rehired as employees of a ‘services’ company at a fraction of their former wages.

For example:

“The Hotel Be Live Experience outsourced the work of its housekeeping departments to the multi-services company Genser S.L., which cut wages by almost 40 percent. Dozens of protests and many union complaints to the Lanzarote Labour Inspectorate forced Genser to increase wages by 500 euros, but the company reduced the number of jobs, increased the workload and lengthened the working day.
Workers were required to clean up to 26 rooms a day in addition to cleaning other areas, compelling workers to work up to 10 hours a day without stopping to eat in order to complete their work.

“The precariousness to which these women are subject all over Spain is especially unsustainable against a background of economic recovery” and record tourism activity, says the union”

Well I prefer Tenerife to Cape Verde. I found Cape Verde incredibly boring, just a desert island with nothing to do.

Yes, its the same issue as it is here with the tourist areas- people buying up second homes for air BnB, so no affordable homes for the locals to rent long term.

Well we are going in December(for the first time) and this thread will not put me off. Researched our hotel(los christianos not PDLA) and my kids will love Siam Park. Its cheap for a winter break and my dh doesn't like anywhere that hot, so ideal for him. I follow some groups on Facebook and tourists are still welcome, they need the tourism. Its people buying property out there that is an issue, same as majorca.