Defiant Brits book Tenerife and Lanzarote holidays in their thousands despite rising tensions

In the face of recent protests in Tenerife and Lanzarote, thousands of steadfast UK holidaymakers are undeterred, continuing to book trips to the popular Canary Islands. Despite local demonstrations expressing concerns over tourist behaviour and the surge in visitor numbers, On The Beach, a leading package holiday company, has reported a sales increase of one third following the unrest.

Bookings have surged by 18 per cent compared to last year, with nearly 14 million tourists flocking to the islands in 2023, marking a 13 per cent rise from 2022.

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Samantha Hasala, a local resident, shared her thoughts with The Sun: "Lots of people are saying, 'We don't want tourists here anymore' - but it is not really about British people. It's just because most of our tourists are British. We love British people."

Leigh Buckingham, who booked a getaway on April 26, commented: "I saw the protests but it hasn't stopped me - it actually reminded me to book. We love it there. We go pretty much every year. Who can argue with lots of sun, sand and sangria? ".

Zoe Harris of On The Beach observed that the protests seem to have had the opposite effect on British travellers: "We've been analysing booking numbers closely since the protests and it seems it's only encouraged more Brits to book. Thousands have made their holiday plans concrete in the last few weeks.", reports Birmingham Live.

The company anticipates even more bookings as enthusiasm for the sunny destination continues unabated. The seven principal islands of the Canaries, with a population of 2.2 million, welcomed almost 14 million international guests in 2023, up by a significant 13% from the year before.

In the Canary Islands, where 35% of gross domestic product (GDP) is derived from tourism, Andrew Ward, director of Tenerife Estate Agents, spoke candidly to Sky News. He noted that media coverage of scattered "tourists go home" graffiti was overblown, suggesting it was "100x greater than the on-the-ground reality", indicating there's minimal visible animosity.

He voiced his concern about the local governments' neglect towards providing affordable housing for locals. "The governments here have completely neglected this need, instead selling land for more hotels and selling land for luxury villas and high-end apartments, which locals are unable to afford," he pointed out.