Locals living in Tenerife have blasted holidaymakers for turning their paradise into a ‘tourism ghetto’ thanks to soaring rents, inflation and yobbish behaviour.

Tensions are growing on the Canary Island, which has seen the number of tourists soar since Covid.

In 2023, Tenerife received 5.6million visitors, up 600,000 compared to 2019, setting a new record.

The holiday resort made headline news last week after a series of graffiti messages were scrawled on walls and buildings, reading ‘tourists go home’, ‘your paradise, our misery’, and ‘average salary in Canary Islands €1,200.’

While some locals attempt to shrug off the graffiti as the work of a disgruntled few, there are many on the island who find agreement with the message.

Local Josua Garcia-Garcia, 33, works in a bar in Playas de las Americas, just a couple of kilometres from where the graffiti was found.

He told MailOnline: ‘It can be a nightmare when the tourists come, I only get four hours of sleep every night because of the music and noise, which keeps me up until three in the morning.

Local Josua Garcia-Garcia, 33, said it can be a ‘nightmare’ when the tourists come to the city

Olivia Valdiva, 50, lives in Palm-Mar, just a few metres away from where the most recent graffiti appeared, said the only people who can afford to live well are tourists and foreigners 

Tensions are growing on the Canary Island, which has seen the number of tourists soar since Covid

The holiday resort made headline news last week after a series of graffiti messages were scrawled on walls and buildings, reading ‘tourists go home’

‘We need stricter rules for tourists, a lot of them are ignorant of how we are suffering.

‘Rents are soaring and people on average salaries cannot afford to live here any more, once they pay their rent they have no money for food.

‘I only live in the south of the island, where all the resorts are, while working, then I escape to my family home in the north for peace and quiet.

‘It brings me shame to see how some areas have been totally saturated by tourism. The police and security need to be tougher and bring in stricter rules, people are fed up.’

Anti-tourism campaigners claim an increase in Airbnb homes and holiday lets means an increasing number of homes are unavailable to rent to locals.

This decreases supply and therefore brings price increases. Homeowners are more tempted to rent to high-paying holidaymakers than long-term tenants.

Recent pro-tenant legislation is likely to make the situation worse, with landlords now unable to increase the price of long-term rents for five years after signing a contract.

It is also incredibly difficult to remove tenants in Spain, where squatting is rife, often making renting long term a less appealing option.

Last May, hundreds of protesters took the streets of Playas de Las Americas, holding up signs reading ‘The Canaries are no longer a paradise’ and ‘the Canaries are not for sale’.

The march was organised by almost a dozen social and environmental groups, who are calling for a tourism ‘eco-tax’.

They claimed some of the island’s services had ‘totally collapsed’, with ‘a coast full of sewage spills, kilometre long traffic jams’ and the ‘destruction of the environment due to the construction of new hotel complexes in coastal areas’, reported Canarian Weekly.

Olivia Valdiva, 50, lives in Palm-Mar, just a few metres away from where the most recent graffiti appeared.

She told MailOnline: ‘Life is very hard here now, the only people who live well are the foreigners and tourists.

‘We can’t afford to eat well and maintain a car and house, the locals are tired of having no money.

Anti-tourist graffiti that reads: ‘Tourists, your luxury,  my misery’ 

Zarita Chinea, 39, described the resort areas as ‘a bit of a tourism ghetto’ due to its fierce reliance on the industry

Zarita said that locals and tourists ‘don’t mix’ in Tenerife

Tourists are pictured sat in a bar facing the beach in Tenerife

 Islanders are apparently annoyed that people’s holidays are ruining their home 

‘Prices have risen so fast over the past few years and it’s getting to breaking point for a lot of people.

‘Tourists come here, rent the houses and then disappear. You walk into a shop and they speak to you in English, a lot of them don’t even know Spanish.

‘I haven’t worked for years because in every job you need to know English, it’s not fair.’

Zarita Chinea, 39, described the resort areas as ‘a bit of a tourism ghetto’ due to its fierce reliance on the industry.

The school teacher told MailOnline: ‘It’s like there are two worlds in Tenerife, the tourists and the locals, and we don’t mix.

‘If I was in power I would try to reduce the number of holidaymakers, there have been so many more in the past year and it is noticeable.

‘I also think we need better quality tourists, who respect our land and nature, who want to explore the real Tenerife and go hiking for example.’

Alex Kelly, 20, is a British expat who moved to Tenerife when she was just two years old.

The de-facto local, who works in the popular Rejoyce bar in Las Playas de Las Americas, told MailOnline that life is particularly difficult for young people.

She said: ‘Living here has gotten tough in the last few years, rent is just unaffordable.

Alex Kelly, 20, a British expat who moved to Tenerife when she was just two years old, said her rent is now ‘unaffordable’

The ‘average salary’ marking is in reference to the low pay seen on the Island in comparison to rising rents, increasing interest rates, and the cost of living due to inflation rates 

Tourists are pictured on mobility scooters driving along the beach front 

‘I’m living with my boyfriend in his parents’ home because we can’t afford to move out.

‘The traffic is also horrendous, I’m always stuck in traffic jams just trying to get to work.’

The Manchester native also revealed there have been serious incidents related to tourists.

She added: ‘They had to stop the boat parties for a while last year after there was an alleged sexual assault by some Italians. There’s been some problems with the type of tourists who come.

‘I totally get the view point of the anti-tourism people, a lot of young people feel that way, the prices are crazy and inflation has made everything more expensive while our wages haven’t increased at all.’

Emiliano del Pino, 58, who was born and raised on the island, admitted there were problems but insisted tourism is still very much welcome.

He told MailOnline: ‘There is a problem with drought and water since last year, and the government’s priority is to make sure the tourist areas are cared for ahead of the locals in the countryside, and that can obviously rub people the wrong way.

‘And folks like me who come and park here in our caravans, we have had trouble with tourists and foreigners who are renting or own homes.

Emiliano del Pino, 58, who was born and raised on the island, admitted there were problems but insisted tourism is still very much welcome

In 2023, Tenerife received 5.6million visitors, up 600,000 compared to 2019, setting a new record

Islanders are said to be angry at the build-up of traffic from tourists 

‘They have complained about our motorhomes and want to ban us from parking up here. They seem them as ‘unsightly’.

‘They even tried to block off a path to the beach to make it private for homeowners only, they set up a barrier but the town hall removed it because it was illegal.’

However, he insisted that tourism is essential to the island’s economy.

The retiree added: ‘The people behind the graffiti are just kids who have been spoon fed from birth and now there are economic problems, they are lashing out.

‘But there are the same problems all over the world, not just, here, we can’t blame tourism for that.’

Jorge Sanchez, 58, who works in a local cinema, echoed this sentiment, telling MailOnline that ‘without tourism, Tenerife is f****d.’

Speaking from Baldo, one of the few bars filled with Spaniards near Playas de las Americas, he said: ‘The whole anti-tourism movement is stupid, without tourism, we are f****d.

‘Take away all the tourists and what the hell are we going to do? These young people want to blame others for society’s problems, but we need the British, the Germans, the Italians, all of them, without them we don’t have an economy.’

Meanwhile, British bar owners raced to defend themselves over what they see as an attack on their businesses and way of life.

Jorge Sanchez, 58, who works in a local cinema, said ‘without tourism, Tenerife is f****d’

Anti-tourism campaigners claim an increase in Airbnb homes and holiday lets means an increasing number of homes are unavailable to rent to locals

Dawn (L) said she feel disheartened by some of the anti-tourism comment and Scott (R) said it is sad that his friends live so far out because of rising rent prices 

Graffiti has appeared in the Canary Islands telling tourists to ‘go home’ and accusing holidaymakers of bringing ‘misery’ to locals 

Last year saw a wave of anti-tourism protests in the resort, with hundreds of people marching for ‘better tourism’ along the beach promenade in Playas de Las Americas

Scott Walters, 35, from Stoke-on-Trent, has owned the Havanas bar in Playas de Las Americas for 10 years.

He told MailOnline: ‘I understand the young people’s point of view, rents have gone crazy, there are people with five or six Airbnbs and this pushes prices up.

‘For a studio around here it can be like €1,200 per month, which is more than the average salary.

‘It’s also upsetting to see friends who are local but have to live so far away to be able to afford a place.

‘But Tenerife needs tourism and I think we bring a lot to their economy so it’s kind of a Catch 22 situation.’

Last year saw a wave of anti-tourism protests in the resort, with hundreds of people marching for ‘better tourism’ along the beach promenade in Playas de Las Americas.

Scott added: ‘It didn’t feel good seeing the protests because obviously it’s against our way of life and business.

‘But I don’t see a solution other than cracking down on Airbnbs.’

Dawn Warriner, 33, who owns the Sun Lounge next door, also feels disheartened by some of the anti-tourism comments.

The Manchester native, who opened her bar just before Covid struck, told MailOnline: ‘Some of the locals clearly don’t want us here but I think it’s a minority.

‘There were hundreds of protesters a few months ago shouting all this anti-tourism stuff.

‘I understand that rents have increased a lot recently and I do get that, but they need tourists here, there would be nothing without it.

‘Police here have also not been friendly to some of us Brits, when I went to the station to report a crime I had witnessed, they heard me speaking English and shouted ‘Brexit’ and laughed.’