The political party Drago Canarias has denounced the granting of almost 700.000 euros in direct subsidies to various European airlines for the opening of seven new international routes, which would benefit tourism businesses in the Canary Islands, a measure that clashes head-on with the growing demands to limit demographic and tourist pressure on the archipelago.
The budget allocation, which amounts to exactly €695.796,65 according to data from the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, benefits industry giants such as Jet2, TUI, EasyJet, SAS, and Volotea. The incentive program aims to connect specific European markets with islands that have fewer direct routes; noteworthy examples include the more than €350.000 allocated to Jet2 to link Birmingham and London with La Palma, and the €103.000 granted to TUI for the connection between Stockholm and Fuerteventura. However, critics argue that this expenditure represents a disguised subsidy for a mass tourism model that is already showing signs of structural exhaustion.
The party's Public Policy Officer, Luis de la Barrera, has focused on the opportunity cost of these subsidies. Drago's analysis suggests that the continued funding of quantitative tourism growth comes at the expense of strategic sectors such as science, new technologies, and R&D&I, which suffer from chronic underinvestment. In a context of global economic uncertainty, the debate underscores the tension between dependence on the service sector and the need for genuine diversification that doesn't rely solely on attracting more air traffic to a limited territory.
Carmen Peña, national spokesperson for Drago Canarias, has called the measure "inconceivable," arguing that the islands have already exceeded their "carrying capacity." The complaint comes after 2025, a year that broke all historical records with 18,4 million tourists and a total of 22 million passengers passing through the Canary Islands' airports. The left-wing nationalist party maintains that the regional government is engaging in a blatant contradiction by actively promoting the arrival of more visitors while public services, roads, and protected natural areas are in a state of technical collapse.
