A leading rural tourism body in the Canaries has urged the authorities to clamp down on the use of tents and other temporary outdoor structures as holiday accommodation.
The Acantur association says the presence of such offers on holiday booking platforms is spiralling out of control at present and is leading to a worryingly unregulated accommodation sub-sector that is harming just the rural tourism sector but the environment also.
According to the association, tents and portable cabins – and even camper vans parked illegally – are being offered more and more as accommodation possibilities in remote rural areas (including conservation zones) with enticing messages such ‘enjoy a romantic getaway under the stars’ and ‘wake up to the sound of birds’.
Acantur wants the local and regional tourism authorities to clamp down on the Internet ads to protect the approximately one thousand registered rural tourism providers who comply with strict rules governing accommodation safety, cleanliness, amenities and sustainability.
‘This form of pseudo-accommodation is undermining the quality and appeal of rural tourism destinations in the Canaries and action needs to be taken’ said a spokesman, who identified areas in the hills of south Tenerife and several locations in Fuerteventura as among the spots increasingly offered for tent and glamping holidays.
Association spokesman Pedro Carreño says that recent talks with the Canarian Ministry of Tourism have given cause for optimism that the problem of the unregulated accommodation will be taken up by the authorities.
Photo: Real Tenerife
