03:33Spain: Hundreds of protesters march in Puerto Rico 'Save tourism' parade
Hundreds of protesters working in the hospitality sector marched through the streets of Puerto Rico on Friday. Puerto Rico is a holiday resort area in south-western Gran Canaria.
Among the large crowd of protesters were restaurant owners, taxi drivers, and hotel owners, who are scared that tourism will continue to decrease on the island.
They were seen marching while chanting and holding banners and signs expressing their concerns, such as 'Hotels are not immigration centres.' These banners, as well as many comments from the protesters, were aimed at immigrants being housed on the island, who some protesters blamed for the drop in demand.
Arrivals of migrants on the island spiked in 2020, several reception facilities are currently overcrowded, and the government selected hotels to host some of them.
Andrew Lipton, a British citizen who moved in the island, remarked that Puerto Rico relies on tourism to survive.
"We're not getting tourism because the tourists from England that I speak to on Facebook are afraid to come here because the hotels they want to stay in are occupied by immigrants and they won't come to these hotels. And in the evening there's a lot of them walking around in big groups, and even our wives and girlfriends are afraid to go outside the apartment because of this situation." Lipton said.
With the high season for tourism around the corner, protesters are worried the regional economy will experience significant losses.
Up to four out of ten jobs in Gran Canaria belong to the hospitality industry and tourism sectors, which make up for more than a third of gross domestic product in the region.
03:33Hundreds of protesters working in the hospitality sector marched through the streets of Puerto Rico on Friday. Puerto Rico is a holiday resort area in south-western Gran Canaria.
Among the large crowd of protesters were restaurant owners, taxi drivers, and hotel owners, who are scared that tourism will continue to decrease on the island.
They were seen marching while chanting and holding banners and signs expressing their concerns, such as 'Hotels are not immigration centres.' These banners, as well as many comments from the protesters, were aimed at immigrants being housed on the island, who some protesters blamed for the drop in demand.
Arrivals of migrants on the island spiked in 2020, several reception facilities are currently overcrowded, and the government selected hotels to host some of them.
Andrew Lipton, a British citizen who moved in the island, remarked that Puerto Rico relies on tourism to survive.
"We're not getting tourism because the tourists from England that I speak to on Facebook are afraid to come here because the hotels they want to stay in are occupied by immigrants and they won't come to these hotels. And in the evening there's a lot of them walking around in big groups, and even our wives and girlfriends are afraid to go outside the apartment because of this situation." Lipton said.
With the high season for tourism around the corner, protesters are worried the regional economy will experience significant losses.
Up to four out of ten jobs in Gran Canaria belong to the hospitality industry and tourism sectors, which make up for more than a third of gross domestic product in the region.