SPANIARDS are escalating their war on tourists, going as far as smearing glue on the key boxes of Airbnbs.
Anyone planning to travel to the Canary island of Lanzarote should watch out for the tactics, which also include fake tape being used to cordon off popular spots like beach access paths and mark them as closed.
One of the stunts saw locals cordoning off famous beauty spots in Lanzarote Credit: islasderesistencia and colectivotabaiba / Instagram
Among the tactics being used to scare off tourists is the glueing-up of key boxes Credit: islasderesistencia and colectivotabaiba / Instagram
Footage circulating on shows the length to which islanders are willing to go sabotage the tourism industry.
Videos shared last week by local platforms like “Islas de Resistencia” and “Colectivo Tabaiba” show lock boxes for holiday flats being sabotaged with extra-strong glue.
Usually, they are mounted on walls of rentals to allow visitors to enter a PIN-code to get the keys to their rental.
Another saw a volcanic beauty spot being closed off with red and white tape. A fake “no entry” sign was also put up in a bid to keep tourists out.
“Your tourism kills our land” sticker Credit: islasderesistencia and colectivotabaiba / Instagram
Costa Teguise Beach in Lanzarote Credit: Alamy
The goal is to make it as hard as possible for holidaymakers to enjoy their trip.
Activists also filmed themselves placing messages on rental cars, warning tourists that they are “contributing to our displacement”.
“By choosing this holiday home in our village, you are contributing to our displacement,” the notes read.
“We have nowhere to live. Travel responsibly, don’t be complicit in this .”
Graffiti reading “Tourists go home” has also been sprayed late at night on highly visible sites across Lanzarote.
The campaign comes as the local government is making its own attempt to make the island’s image more upmarket.
The goal is to attract fewer tourists, but those who do come spend more .
This comes as Lanzarote recorded its highest-ever number of Brits during the first quarter of 2026.
The stunt outside the crater of the Cuervo volcano Credit: islasderesistencia and colectivotabaiba / Instagram
The red and white tape seen in the night Credit: islasderesistencia and colectivotabaiba / Instagram
Over 400,431 arrived from UK airports between January and March, according to data reported by La Voz.
Campaign groups say they are fighting back against the surge in tourism that is being blamed for plummeting living standards.
Other Spanish islands have suffered similar sabotage.
In February, in the ancient city of Granada were rendered inoperable with super glue – in a single evening.
Then, they were covered with stickers reading: “Against the housing business.”
The Granada Housing Union has claimed responsibility for the coordinated sabotage, saying it has moved onto the “offensive” against what it describes as the “business of housing”.
Last saw locals in over 40 cities across taking to the streets to and mass tourism that they say is ruining their hometowns.
Activists urged residents of Costas, Tenerife and other British hotspots to damage rentals by super-gluing their locks.
“Please vandalise all the locks you see. Go super glue mad,” read a message posted on a campaign site.
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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