"I would like to see some changes": Tourism as perceived by Canarians

Abstract

This article focuses on tourism in Gran Canaria as experienced by residents working within or in relation to the tourism industry. We locate the voices of our interlocutors in a geopolitical context, using critical theoretical perspectives that have called for more engagement with inequalities entangled with tourism and produced by tourism mobilities. The COVID-19 crisis was instrumental in changing our research participants' perspectives on the future, as reflected by the recent mobilization against mass tourism in the Canary Islands. Our research participants reflect an intersecting discontent with touristification, often highlighting structural issues that, as scholars have noted-show overtourism is not merely about visitor numbers but also about structural and geopolitical inequalities and questions of justice. Participants stressed that many pre-existing problems intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic, such as housing issues and everyday living costs.