THOUSANDS of people on the Spanish island of Tenerife protested over the weekend for a temporary limit to tourist arrivals amid rising housing costs for locals.

Protesters in the capital Santa Cruz de Tenerife held up placards on Saturday reading: “People live here” and “We don’t want to see our island die.”

Organisers called for a stem to the boom in short-term holiday rentals and hotel construction, demanding changes to the tourism industry that accounts for 35 per cent of GDP in the Canary Islands archipelago.

They are urging local authorities to temporarily limit visitor numbers to alleviate pressure on the islands’ environment, infrastructure and housing stock, and put curbs on property purchases by foreign nationals.

One protest leader, Antonio Bullon, told Reuters: “The authorities must immediately stop this corrupt and destructive model that depletes the resources and makes the economy more precarious.

“The Canary Islands have limits — and people’s patience, too.”

A protester said: “It’s not a message against the tourist, but against a tourism model that doesn’t benefit this land and needs to be changed.”

The archipelago of 2.2 million people was visited by nearly 14 million foreign tourists in 2023, up 13 per cent from the previous year, official data shows.

Canary Islands president Fernando Clavijo said on Friday he felt “proud” that the region was a leading tourist destination, but acknowledged that more controls were needed as the sector continues to grow.

“We can’t keep looking away. Otherwise, hotels will continue to open without any control,” he said.

A draft law is expected to pass later this year on toughening the rules on short-term lets following complaints from priced-out residents.