Record Revenue Amidst Signs of a Slowdown
The tourism sector in the Canary Islands has continued to demonstrate its strength in 2025. Visitor numbers keep growing—with the final official figures pending, the year is expected to close with between 18.4 and 18.6 million visitors—and turnover has once again set a new record, reaching nearly €20 billion by October. However, in recent months, symptoms have emerged that the long-anticipated slowdown may be beginning. The industry insists that growth cannot be limitless and, therefore, the destination will have to get used to more moderate increases or even a soft landing. This trend aligns with the Canary Islands’ ambition to achieve similar results with a more selective tourism model.
Labour Unrest and Wage Negotiations
Nevertheless, tourism activity has also faced some turbulence throughout 2025. After several decades of social peace, trade unions went on the warpath to demand pay rises and improvements for a sector that employs over 145,000 people in the Canaries. Following the failure of the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) attempt to converge towards a regional collective agreement, parallel negotiations ensued in both provinces, mediated by the Minister for Tourism, Jessica de León.
These negotiations reached a successful conclusion sooner in the province of Las Palmas, where a 5% wage increase for this year and an extraordinary €650 payment were sealed. Although talks went down to the wire in the province of Tenerife—with the personal intervention of President Fernando Clavijo—employers and unions failed to reach an agreement. This led to a strike during the Easter holiday period.
Negotiations resumed after several weeks of deadlock and with the threat of further strike days during the summer. Finally, in June, the provincial employers’ association sealed an agreement with the unions for a new collective agreement, which includes a 13.5% wage increase over the next three years.
The Battle Over Holiday Rentals
Minister for Tourism Jessica de León has faced another major challenge this year: pushing through the Sustainable Regulation of Tourist Use of Housing Law. This endeavour has even come at a personal cost, after she suffered threats and attacks against her home and vehicle. The intention was to regulate a sector that had grown almost unchecked in recent years.
However, the regulations came up against the Canarian Association of Holiday Lets (Ascav). Representatives of property owners have gone so far as to claim that the law will wipe out 90% of tourist homes in the Canary Islands, as they will be unable to comply with the cascade of requirements in the new text. The new rules have also not been well received by local councils, upon whom the responsibility for regulating the activity now rests.
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