Rare ‘black alert’ issued for popular vacation | Travel News

A popular Spanish vacation vacation spot has been hit with two black flags for air pollution by an environmental group, which factors the finger on the inflow of vacationers.

The Canary Islands, a favourite amongst many British holidaymakers, is seeing a rise in guests to La Graciosa, as soon as thought of much less spoiled than its bigger counterparts, Tenerife and Lanzarote. However, two of La Graciosa’s seashores have now been flagged for their uncleanliness.

La Graciosa, located simply two kilometers north of Lanzarote throughout the Strait of El Río, has had two of its seashores named by Ecologistas en Accion (Ecologists in Action). This group yearly identifies the dirtiest spots alongside the Spanish coast. The black flags got to Playa de Caleta de Sebo, the island’s most populated space, and Playa de la Francesa, positioned barely additional down the coast.

Since 2005, Ecologistas en Acción’s yearly report has spotlighted environmental mismanagement in Spain. The group attributes the environmental points plaguing La Graciosa to tourism, noting that whereas the island solely has 720 residents, it welcomes round 300,000 guests annually.

According to Ecologistas en Acción, the seashore in Caleta de Sebo is poorly maintained, with waste from non-public boats, ferries docking on the port, beachgoers, and eating places contributing to the air pollution drawback. “The increase in the number of boats, waste, and activities pollute the beach,” the group declared.

At Playa de la Francesa, officers have issued warnings about “boats with tourists that come, generating noise, feeding seagulls and fish, and leaving excrement and toilet paper”.

This marks the second consecutive 12 months the seashore has obtained a black flag designation, having additionally made the record in 2023.

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The environmental group particularly criticized the catamaran tours arriving on the shoreline, stating they “hold parties, meals, games, and contests with loud music and leaving waste behind on the sand and in the water.”

This development coincides with mounting frustration from residents throughout the Canary Islands and different Spanish vacation locations, who’ve staged demonstrations towards what they understand as extreme tourism.

However, the prospect of protests and a chilly welcome seems inadequate to discourage vacationers from flocking to the Canary Islands.

During June 2025, the archipelago achieved a record-breaking milestone for worldwide customer numbers, primarily based on recent statistics from the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

International arrivals climbed to 7.84 million in June, marking a 4% surge in comparison with the similar timeframe final 12 months.

The inflow of vacationers additionally boosted expenditure throughout the Islands, with worldwide company injecting $1.70 billion into the regional economic system in June, representing practically an 8.5% soar from the earlier 12 months.