The German tourism giant will intensify contacts with island authorities following the upsurge in anti-tourist protests in Mallorca, while seeking to protect its hotel model from social criticism of vacation rentals and territorial saturation.
TUI wants to prevent the specter of tourismophobia that has shaken Mallorca from spreading to the Canary Islands. Following growing social tensions and demonstrations against the tourism model in the Balearic Islands—with episodes of hostility toward German visitors—the German tourism group plans to intensify its dialogue with the Canary Islands authorities in a sort of diplomatic offensive to protect its image, strengthen its institutional roots, and distance itself from the most questionable practices in the sector.
Thomas Ellerbeck, chairman of the TUI Foundation Board of Trustees, has already taken the first step this week with a high-level meeting with the Balearic president, Marga Prohens, and the regional minister of tourism, Jaume Bauzà, both from the People's Party (PP). The meeting, which officially focused on the lack of affordable housing on the islands, actually served a more significant purpose: to strengthen a defensive narrative against the growing social rejection of mass tourism, which TUI does not want to be dragged into.
Sources close to the group confirm that the company plans to initiate a round of contacts in the Canary Islands in the coming weeks, with regional government officials, island councils, tourism authorities, and industry organizations. The objective is twofold: to preserve its reputation as a responsible player and to ensure stability for its business model based on traditional hotels and package deals.
"TUI customers don't cause congestion, they don't clog roads with rental cars, or force residents out of the rental market. They come to hotels, on public transport, with a limited and managed impact," the German parent company insists, echoing Ellerbeck's own statements after his meeting in Palma. "That's not the type of tourism we represent," he asserted, alluding to the rise of vacation rentals as a factor putting pressure on housing.
In the Canary Islands, TUI operates a well-established network of partner hotels in key destinations such as southern Gran Canaria, southern Tenerife, Lanzarote, and Fuerteventura. Unlike other tourism brands, the group has always championed a respectful and sustainable approach. However, growing public awareness regarding the tourism model has raised alarm bells.
"We cannot allow ourselves to be trapped in a populist anti-tourism discourse that fails to distinguish between responsible operators and predatory practices," explain industry sources. TUI believes the structural dialogue initiated in the Balearic Islands is an example to follow in the Canary Islands as well. "Local society must define what type of tourism it wants, but it must also recognize who is willing to adapt and who is not," Ellerbeck noted.
The group notes that it has already held meetings with civil society organizations in the Balearic Islands, such as the Civil Society Forum, to address challenges such as overcrowding and territorial balance. In the Canary Islands, TUI will seek to strengthen its position as an institutional ally at a particularly delicate time: summer has begun with record temperatures, rising rental prices, and a growing debate about the sustainability of tourism as the main economic driver.
At the same time, TUI has expressed its concern to the German government regarding verbal and symbolic attacks on German tourists in Mallorca. Several federal politicians have described these actions as "unacceptable" and urged the Balearic authorities to ensure a climate of respect.
The Canary Islands, which aspire to stay out of this spiral of social confrontation, could now become the laboratory for a new tourism pact. And TUI wants to be at the center of the game.
