Tenerife’s beaches are no stranger to night time activity, but overnight on Thursday 5 December 2024, vandals daubed over 200 sunbeds on the winter sun island with anti-tourism messages, as well as slashing and breaking the loungers and graffitiing nearby walls.
An act of destruction or defence?
The “protest” took place on Las Vistas and El Camisónbeaches in Los Cristianos, in the south of the largest of the Spanish Canary Islands. Slogans such as “Canarias se defiende” (The Canary Islands defend themselves) and “Canarias no se vende” (The Canary Islands are not for sale) can be seen written in black spray-painted lettering on the sunbeds’ fabric, in images published by local newspaper Canarian Weekly. A shopping centre nearby was also hit with the anti-tourism messages.
Local authorities, who said 100 loungers at Las Vistas and 136 at El Camisón were damaged, have condemned the guerilla action as “an attack on the heritage of Arona” (the municipality affected). Mayor, Fátima Lemes, confirmed that vandalism is an illegal act that will be punished accordingly, and called for anyone with information about the incident to come forward and help identify the culprits.
‼️Over 230 sun beds vandalised in rampage on Los Cristianos beaches in #Tenerife
— Canarian Weekly (@CanarianWeekly) December 6, 2024
‼️They have been graffitied with anti-tourism slogans, as have the walls of the Arts shopping centre…https://t.co/opkX8pV8jd pic.twitter.com/VKJRhB6ZyS
A “threat to the common good”
“The people of Arona are very conscious of protecting our environment, but unfortunately, there are always exceptions that threaten the common good, which is like attacking all of us,” Lemes said. She also put out a message aimed at both residents and visitors, urging respect for public property and assets, whether that be green spaces, playgrounds, sun loungers or even rubbish bins, which she said all helped to create and maintain the resorts’ appeal.
The Canarian reported that the defacement and destruction had disrupted tourist activity on the beaches, which are usually an important draw for tourists. Municipal employees are now working to repair the damage and replace items as needed. With an estimated 10% of the sunbeds out of action, that process could take up to a month over the important winter season.
Calls for night time patrols
As well as the costs of making the beach infrastructure fit for purpose again, more public money could end up being spent if local stakeholders have their way. Braulio Melián Pérez, the manager of beach management company El Enyesque SL, told Canarian reporters the area had “been without beach police for two years”. He is an advocate for the reintroduction of night time security patrols to safeguard holidaymakers and the local economy, which he said had come under “direct attack” from the worst sabotage in eight years.
