'Go home!' Tourists told to get out of Tenerife as locals protest but Britons fight back
Britons in Spain have faced backlash
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The Easter weekend is a time many Britons like to escape the UK in favour of somewhere hot and sunny - and Tenerife is a popular choice.
However, locals were not too happy with the influx of tourists over the weekend, with some waging war on visitors to the island.
British holidaymakers arrived in the Canary Island over the Easter break and were met with anti-tourist graffiti.
Messages included "Tourists go home" and "Too many guiris", meaning uncouth foreign tourists.
Some locals told tourists to 'go home'
PA IMAGESRemote workers were slapped with a warning: "Locals are forced to move out and YOU are responsible for that… digital nomads you are NOT welcome here."
Some residents living in the Canary Islands are fed up with tourists flocking in their masses and wreaking havoc.
They claimed that tourists are noisy and often contribute to pollution by littering.
The mass demand for Airbnbs has also driven the cost of rent up, which impacts locals in a continuing cost of living crisis.
As a result, Tenerife locals are calling for a tourist tax and stricter controls on tourism, saying that enough is enough.
However, Britons have clapped back, arguing that their holidays in Spain boost the country's economy and provide ample jobs for locals working in tourism and hospitality.
One tourist wrote next to the anti-tourist graffiti: "F*** off, we pay your wages!"
Some locals will be protesting against the negative effects of tourism today in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Another protest will take place on April 20 by environmental and social groups.
Protestors will be marching for the conservation of natural spaces, a tourist moratorium and tougher regulation for foreigners buying property.
Locals are deeply concerned with rent prices going up as a direct result of tourism. Ivan Cerdeña Molina, who has helped organise the protest this month as part of the local conservation group ATAN, 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."
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'Brits come here and spend a lot of money, the overwhelming majority of our customers are from the UK'
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But the positive impact British tourists have on the economy in the Canary Islands cannot be disputed.
Melissa Taylor, who works in the Giddy Goose English pub in Las Playas de las Americas, called the anti-tourist sentiment "unfair".
She said: "Brits come here and spend a lot of money, the overwhelming majority of our customers are from the UK."
In other Spain tourism news, holidaymakers have been told they should not be put off visiting Barcelona despite an extreme drought.
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