Tenerife and Lanzarote placed on warning list for tourists

The Canary Islands have been placed on the Fodor ‘No List’ amid anti-tourism protests, environmental concerns and pollution impacting beaches.

Fodor provides travel guides and online tourism information for English-speaking tourists.

During the first six months of 2025, the Canary Islands welcomed more than 7.8 million tourists and more than 27 million airport passengers.

But residents have protested in the streets of Tenerife, Gran Canaria, and Lanzarote over the past two years against the usual influx of travellers to the sunny, hot islands.

On the anti-tourism protests in the Canary Islands, Fodor said: “Their message was clear: booming tourism, soaring housing costs, and mounting environmental strain are threatening the foundations of island life.”

ATAN, one of the oldest such groups, told Fodor that “they are losing their identity, culture, and, ultimately, their right to exist as a community.”

Another concern is pollution from wastewater.

Fodor added: “Imagine wading into what should be crystalline hotel-resort waters, only to realise that 100 million liters of untreated or barely treated sewage gush into the sea every day, swamping beaches with fecal contamination.”

The travel list, however, is not a “boycott” list but is designed to “highlight destinations where tourism is placing unsustainable pressures on the land and local communities”, Fodor said.

It added: “The No List serves a gentle but pointed nudge to ease up on a spot for now–not forever–and give a rest to any location that clearly needs a breather.”

This comes after additional travel warnings for Brits looking to travel.

Amid the deadly war between Israel/US and Iran, the UK Government has been updating its travel guidance for countries like the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine and Qatar.

At the start of the month, the government advised Brits to register their whereabouts so the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office can send them direct updates.