The protest is expected to cause significant travel disruption, especially during the last weekend of the UK half-term, when many families will be returning home from a week away
Over 300 motorhomes are set to descend on one of the major Canary Islands this weekend in a massive protest.
Members of the community are arguing that they’re being discriminated against and are planning to make their voices heard through the medium of a motorhome convoy designed to disrupt traffic. The convoy will travel along the TF-1 motorway on Saturday (February 22), causing significant delays, especially during the last weekend of the UK half-term. The demonstration will start from the south of Tenerife, head to Santa Cruz, and then return.
This follows a similar event held in Gran Canaria two weeks ago. Organisers were inspired by the strong turnout on the neighbouring island and decided to plan a similar mobilisation on Tenerife.
The aim is to highlight the concerns of the motorhome community. They’re calling for the removal of signs they believe to be discriminatory and illegal, the creation of properly equipped parking areas, and the establishment of a network of spaces and environmental facilities that enable responsible usage.
They’re also demanding changes to regional planning laws to allow designated rustic land for higher-level sites, simpler facilities, and campsites, reports the Express.
Motorhome enthusiasts are set to kick off a major protest, organised by several associations and clubs within the community, including ACAT, Amigos de AC and Campers, A.C.R. A.L. Lanzarote, Caravaning Club Isla Bonita, and the Asociación de Campistas de Fuerteventura.
The rally will see participants gathering at 9.30 am at the El Gomero Service Station in Oroteanda Baja (Guargacho), Las Chafiras, with numbers already surpassing 300 vehicles and expectations for even more, following a recent survey.
The use of motorhomes has sparked controversy across Spain, reaching boiling point last week after droves of tourist-occupied campervans flooded a Spanish beach at Saldar Beach in Alicante. Despite visible signs barring long-term parking, numerous travellers—predominantly British, Dutch, German, and Belgian—have been encamping for lengthy periods, essentially transforming the coastline into an unpaid campsite.
These seaside squatters are not just hogging space but also inviting ire for their audacity to install chairs, tables, and tarpaulins over large expanses of the beachfront. Local reports, including those from The Olive Press, indicate some have gone so far as to illegally discharge wastewater into adjacent nature spots.
Frustrations among locals are peaking, with one outraged resident exclaiming: “They come with their dogs and leave the place full of excrement.”
It was also recently announced that protests will take place across Spain on April 5 in response to the current housing crisis in the country.
Housing activists will demonstrate against ‘exorbitant’ housing prices across Barcelona and other Spanish cities. Several Tenants’ Unions across the country plan to “take to the streets”, to demand “rent prices to be lowered” and to “stop speculating with the housing market”.
The protest is due to take place at 6pm, at Place Espanya in Barcelona, as well as in cities across the country and will use the slogan “Let’s reduce rent prices and end the housing business”. The Tenant’s Union in Barcelona is expecting to welcome “thousands of people” from different parts of Catalonia, according to Catalan News.
