Tenerife in the tourist tower: strict rules for the El Teide National Park

Tenerife in the tourist tower: strict rules for the El Teide National Park

Teneriffa, Spanien - tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands, faces massive challenges due to mass tourism, which significantly stresses the infrastructure and natural beauty of the island. From 2026 it will cost visitors to the El Teide National Park, the highest mountain of Spain, to invest a measure that is introduced in the hope of investing income in nature conservation. According to Merkur , the newly introduced regulations should also contain strict controls for private cars, in order to include the increase in problems such as trampled paths, To contain garbage accumulation and illegal parking.

The island administration has taken responsibility for the national park since January 1, 2025. The number of hikers is currently limited to 300 a day, which requires prior registration via a website. These measures are intended to help regulate tourism better and reduce the ecological footprint of visitors. However, the exact admission price for the national park from 2026 has not yet been determined.

protests and resistance to mass tourism

On Saturday, people took to the streets on all seven inhabited Canary Islands to protest the negative effects of mass tourism. Under the motto "The Canary Islands come to their border", the demonstrators expressed their displeasure with the approval of large tourist complexes in protected areas in Tenerife. The sociology professor and chair of the environmental protection organization Ascan, Eugenio Reyes, emphasizes that warnings have been made before these developments since the 1990s. Before the euro crisis in 2008, Tenerife already recorded 8 million visitors a year, while in 2019 the number rose to 16 million and in 2023 to 17 million, according to taz .

The increasing numbers lead to overcrowded local, traffic jams and even water rationing, while hotels continue to show great water consumption. Despite the jobs generated by tourism, which make up 40% of the job in the Canary Islands, the working conditions in the industry are often precarious, with vacant areas and low wages. In addition, 36% of the population live on or below the poverty border, which indicates structural poverty in the region.

sustainability initiatives and projects

In order to counteract mass tourism and its negative consequences, Tenerife is planning an investment of 219 million euros in environmental programs. This includes projects such as the revival of seaweed meadows and the care of natural areas such as La Rambla de Castro and Montaña Roja. The implementation of additional ranger units and the introduction of surveillance cameras at the entrances to the national park should ensure stricter control of the existing laws and regulations.

Total Tenerife hopes to reach record numbers in tourism again for 2025, despite the growing problems. The challenge will be to find a sustainable approach to reconcile the needs of visitors and the local population.