Tenerife has overtaken the Costa del Sol and other popular destinations to become the most searched-for location among British property and holiday buyers, according to recent data. The Canary Island’s appeal is driven by year-round sunshine, diverse landscapes, and high demand for holiday rentals.
The Canary Islands have recorded over 29 consecutive months with more than one million foreign visitors. In 2023, the archipelago welcomed 16 million tourists, while Tenerife experienced its best tourism quarter in early 2025. Notably, Tenerife now receives more visitors than Brazil, despite covering just 0.02% of the South American nation’s land area.
Official figures from Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE) show that nearly 1.6 million international tourists visited the Canary Islands in March 2025, a 0.9% increase year-on-year. During the first quarter of 2025, the archipelago saw over 4.3 million visitors, up 2.1% from the same period in 2024. Tourism revenue also hit a record, with travellers spending over £5.83 billion in the first quarter, a 5.46% rise from 2024.
In 2022, Rightmove data indicated that Tenerife topped the list of Spanish locations British buyers were searching for, ahead of the Costa del Sol and Majorca. However, the surge in tourism has sparked protests among residents concerned about the impact of mass tourism. Demonstrators have taken to the streets across the seven main islands, calling for a temporary limit on tourist arrivals to curb rising housing costs driven by short-term holiday rentals and hotel construction. Some protesters have even launched an “indefinite” hunger strike, though they stress the protests are aimed at government officials, not individual tourists.
