The president of the Cabildo of Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, stated this Monday that the social movement ’The Canary Islands have a limit’ “has diminished in scale”, yet concurrently acknowledged that the existing tourism model “does not” cater to future needs and that there is a necessity to enhance efforts towards a framework of greater sustainability.
This was his analysis of the protests that took place this Sunday across various locations in the Archipelago, while he noted that the marches unfolded “without major incident” apart from a few isolated occurrences – one activist was detained in Gran Canaria.
He pointed out that the developmental tourism model of the past 50 years “transformed” the islands from being “a poor, rural and agricultural society, which needed to migrate to find opportunities”, but now we must aspire to a model that “improves the quality of life for residents.”
In this context, he emphasised the initiative launched by the Government of the Canary Islands, following the Conference of Presidents, to create a ‘road map’ addressing the demographic challenge facing the archipelago and the efforts made by the Cabildo to protect natural areas, which began with the introduction of a fee in the Masca ravine and is expected to extend to Anaga and Teide.
Furthermore, he indicated that the Cabildo has also proposed limitations on the purchase of property by foreign nationals and asserted the importance of continuing to work towards “a model where revenue from tourism contributes to an enhancement in the quality of life for citizens.”
Concerning the large-scale projects like the La Tejita hotel or the ‘Cuna del Alma’ tourist development, he categorised them under municipal jurisdictions – refraining from commenting on the Motor Circuit – and he has ardently worked to uphold the Cabildo’s commitment to regulate and improve access to natural spaces within just “14 months” of his term.
