Holidaymaking Brits met with anti-tourist graffiti on Tenerife as frustrated ... trends now
British holidaymakers arriving in Tenerife for the Easter break have been met with anti-tourist graffiti - and a tense reception from locals.
Residents living in the Canary Islands have declared war and say they are 'fed-up' of British tourists who only 'drink cheap beer, lay in the sun and eat low quality food'.
They say airbnbs are pushing up the costs of renting and the cost of living while they are sick of the noise and rubbish pollution that comes with the seasonal influx of holidaymakers.
Speaking to MailOnline during the first big getaway over Easter, residents on the Spanish holiday island said 'enough is enough' as they called for a moratorium on the industry, along with a tourist tax and stricter controls.
It comes as a wave of new anti-tourism graffiti has popped up near resorts over the past few days, with messages reading 'tourists go home' and 'too many guiris'.
A wave of new anti-tourism graffiti has popped up near resorts in Tenerife over the past few days, with messages reading 'tourists go home' and 'too many guiris'
Sun-seeking Britons have long favoured Tenerife as a holiday destination
Tensions have recently broken out between British holidaymakers and fed up residents of the canary island
Guiri is a Spanish slang word for foreigner, which is often used in a negative way to describe northern European or American visitors and expats.
One poster taped to a wall said: 'Locals are forced to move out and YOU are responsible for that… digital nomads you are NOT welcome here.'
But it seems some Brits are fighting back, with a message in English scribbled next to one of the slogans saying: 'F**k off, we pay your wages!'
Tensions are rising on the island as more and more people join calls for restraints on tourism. On Tuesday this week, a protest is planned in Santa Cruz, dubbed 'Salvar La Tejida' (Save La Teijda).
Campaigners will hold a press conference laying out their demands before holding a march with banners and signs.
Later this month, on April 20, a second huge protest is being planned by a string of environmental and social groups, again in the capital.
A poster for the event says the Canary Islands 'has a limit' and that protesters will be marching for 'conservation of natural spaces, a tourist moratorium, and tougher regulation for foreigners buying property.'
The main gripe among locals is the rising costs of renting and buying homes, as landlords continue to buy up Airbnbs and tourist lets, reducing supply and pushing up prices.
Tech worker Ivan Cerdeña Molina, 36, is helping organise the protest this month as part of his role at local conservation group ATAN (Asociación Tinerfeña de Amigos de la Naturaleza).
He told MailOnline: 'It's a crisis, we have to change things urgently, people are living in their cars and even in caves, and locals can't eat, drink or live well.
Biologist Anne Striewe, 47, told MailOnline of the damaging effect tourism has on wildlife. 'There are hundreds of boats and jet skis in our waters everyday, pumping petrol into the water,' she said
Tech worker Ivan Cerdeña Molina, 36, is helping organise the protest this month. He told MailOnline: 'It's a crisis, we have to change things urgently, people are living in their cars and even in caves, and locals can't eat, drink or live well'
Mr Molina (right) added: 'Airbnb and Booking.com are like a cancer that is consuming the island bit by bit'
The holiday resort made headline news last month after a series of graffiti messages were scrawled on walls and buildings, reading 'tourists go home'
'Airbnb and Booking.com are like a cancer that is consuming the island bit by bit.
'The benefits of the industry are not trickling down to everyday people, whose salaries have not increased in years, the quality of life here is collapsing.'
Ivan was born and raised in El Medano, a once quiet town about a 20 minute-drive east of the most popular tourist resort of Los Cristianos.
This Easter weekend, the area was filled with holidaymakers who packed out the beaches and parked dozens of caravans and jeeps on the once-protected land behind.
Local painter Vicky Colomer, 63, told MailOnline: 'I feel like a foreigner here, I don't feel comfortable anymore, it's like everything is made for British and German tourists who just want to drink cheap beer, lay in the sun and eat burgers and chips.
'We need higher quality tourists who actually want to experience our culture and food and respect our nature.
'This was a paradise but now it's not and it makes me angry. We must reduce the number of flights and visitors and focus on bringing higher quality people.'
She added: 'There are hundreds of caravans who park up illegally and leave rubbish all over the place.
'Near my home a few weeks ago foreign tourists put on a rave with a DJ booth and speakers in the middle of a field, that is not acceptable.'
She added that young people are increasingly tired of being unable to find decent work.
'They study for years and go to university but the only jobs offered to them here is in a hotel or a restaurant or bar, so all our young talent has to move away to the mainland if they
