Tents Everywhere on Tenerife is a Growing Trend on Rural Land, Signaling a Problem for the Island
Tents, tent camps, and illegal ‘huts’ being offered through vacation rental platforms is a growing issue, despite the strict rules for rural tourism. This development is driven by the lack of adequate control and enforcement by local authorities, leading to illegal construction and a loss of the landscape’s character. This trend raises concerns, both among owners of legal rural accommodations and environmentalists, who fear the negative impact on the environment and the tourism reputation of Tenerife.
Cause and Trigger
The trigger for this problem is the passivity of public administrations, particularly the municipal governments, responsible for urban planning and managing qualified activities. This has led to the illegal increase of such accommodations, especially in rural areas of Tenerife, which not only impacts the landscape but also undermines the quality of the Canary Islands’ tourism destination.
The root cause of the problem is the failure to comply with the existing rural tourism legislation, particularly the rules that define what types of accommodations are allowed on rural land. More and more “pseudo-accommodations,” such as tents and huts, are being offered through vacation rental websites, which do not meet the approved standards for stays on rural land.
Mid-Mountain in the South
Ashotel, the umbrella organization for lodging businesses, and Acantur, the platform offering holiday cottages, are aligned and support the complaint in which photos and advertisements were sent to the Ministry of Tourism. It seems that in rural areas, anything goes. Tents on rural land are an eyesore for the sector.
In Tenerife, there has been a spectacular increase in offers of accommodation in huts and tents on rural land through vacation rental websites. This activity is attributed by the Canary Islands Association for Rural Tourism (Acantur) to the lack of will from public authorities, which are needed to intervene and stop the destruction of rural land and the natural landscape, especially in the mid-mountain area of southern Tenerife.
Quality Undermined
These pseudo-accommodations need to be sanctioned as they represent unfair competition for those who comply with very strict regulations and have worked hard to preserve and maintain Tenerife’s natural heritage. It seems that anything goes in rural areas. Wastewater is dumped, waste materials appear, and these pseudo-accommodations do not meet any of the types approved by the Canary Islands regulations for locations on rural land.
Acantur, which offers a total of 828 rural establishments on the archipelago, laments the passivity of public administrations, especially the municipalities, as they are responsible for urban planning and managing qualified activities. Additionally, Acantur reminds, in line with the arguments expressed by Ashotel, that these pseudo-accommodations undermine the quality of Tenerife’s and the Canary Islands’ tourism destinations.
Support from FAST
José Fernando Cabrera, the president of the Forum of Friends of Southern Tenerife (FAST), was adamant when asked about the complaint from the rural tourism subsector. He fully agrees with Acantur on the need for both the Ministry of Tourism of the Canary Government and the Labor Inspection to act in stopping the huge number of illegal offerings in rural areas and vacation rentals. This situation violates regulations and harms the tourism image of the Islands.
The rise of promotions on digital platforms for vacation rentals is evident with the increasing number of offers in natural areas such as the southern mid-mountain region of Tenerife. There, romantic ads like “rooms in nature,” “romantic nights under the stars,” “beautiful dome tent,” “ecological accommodation to wake up to the sound of birds,” or an “unforgettable experience in a fantastic Volkswagen California” appear.
Thus, interested individuals are lured to an accommodation that should not exist. We previously addressed the growth of Tenerife in the article TENERIFE IS GROWING.
Pixabay © Photography
Tents everywhere on Tenerife ©
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