Canary Islands National Parks on the brink as visitor numbers soar from 3 to 8 million in four years
Experts are warning that the Canary Islands’ four National Parks are facing “continuous collapse” due to record visitor numbers, calling for strict limits on access and better management to protect some of the archipelago’s most fragile and treasured landscapes.
According to the Canary Islands Statistics Institute (ISTAC), a record 8.4 million people visited the region’s national parks in 2024, up from 7.7 million the previous year, and more than double the number recorded just four years ago, when pandemic restrictions reduced visits to 3.3 million.
Environmental groups say the rapid growth is placing enormous pressure on delicate ecosystems. In Teide National Park, the most visited natural space in Spain, scientists have documented a 28% loss in coverage of the island’s emblematic retama del Teide shrub, linked to rising temperatures, grazing by herbivores, and trampling by visitors who stray off marked trails. The Tenerife Cabildo has also highlighted the illegal collection of endangered plants and severe crowding in popular areas.
“The pressure on our national parks is unsustainable,” said Eustaquio Villalba, spokesperson for the Tenerife environmental group ATAN. “The parks exist to conserve nature, not to serve as theme parks for mass tourism.”
Villalba criticised the newly approved management plan for Mount Teide, arguing that its partial vehicle restrictions and proposed visitor fee of up to €25 “don’t address the real problem” and risk turning the park into a “theme park.” He and other conservationists are urging authorities to invest in reliable public transport and enforce strict visitor limits to reduce environmental damage.
The Teide management plan sets a maximum daily capacity of 14,303 visitors, equivalent to 5.22 million a year, a figure already exceeded in 2024.
Meanwhile, Timanfaya (Lanzarote) reports constant queues and overcrowded car parks, and Garajonay (La Gomera) and Caldera de Taburiente (La Palma) are struggling with heavy vehicle traffic and safety issues.
Juana Barber, president of EUROPARC-Spain, which represents protected area managers, warned that national parks have become “global brands” attracting visitors who “come for the photo, not the experience.” She advocates for zoning systems to direct tourists to less fragile areas and for a gradual cultural shift towards public transport and controlled access.
“We can’t keep growing like this, the territory simply can’t take it,” Barber said. “We have to accept that not everyone can go everywhere, all the time.”
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