Canary Islands: Tenerife starts putting up cameras to stop 'too many tourists'

By Jennifer Pinto, Audience writer

New measures are being implemented to protect the park (Image: Getty)

Teide National Park, a popular destination in Tenerife and famous for its breathtaking volcanic landscapes, is set to implement new measures to better manage the growing number of visitors. As the largest national park in the Canary Islands and the most visited in both Spain and Europe, according to the local tourism board, the park has been subject to increasing pressure from high tourist traffic. To address this, the Cabildo Insular de Tenerife, the island's governing body, announced on Wednesday that it will be installing cameras and sensors in the next few days to regulate the number of visitors entering the park and minimise the environmental impact.

The president of the Cabildo de Tenerife, Rosa Dávila, said nine surveillance and visitor-counting cameras will be installed at the park’s four main road access points and in more high-concentration areas. A total of 30 digital counters will also be placed along key hiking trails to monitor visitor flow in real time to prevent overcrowding and ensure the preservation of the park which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2007 and is home to the third highest volcanic structure in the world. 

This is part of a £1.5 million investment (Image: Getty)

This is part of an investment of around £1.5 million from Next Generation EU funds, which is included in an agreement with the Ministry of Ecological Transition of the Canary Islands Government, Diario de Avisos reported. 

The work will be carried out by the public company, Tragsa, and is expected to go on until May 2026.

The investment will also focus on enhancing infrastructure, including improvements to 41 trails within the National Park, covering a distance of over 80 miles.

Additionally, the 32 viewpoints and the Juan Évora ethnographic museum will undergo renovations, alongside upgrades to the highly frequented rest areas of Alto de Guamaso and Roques de García.

To further enrich visitors' experiences and promote sustainability, five interpretative tables will be installed, providing educational and informative insights into the park's natural environment.

Home to incredible landscapes and the country's highest peak, environmentals have raised the alarm concerning the damage of high concentration of tourists citing issues like traffic congestion and illegal parking.

The park reportedly welcomes a massive three million tourists every year.

In a social media post last month, Jaime Coello Bravo, director of the Telesforo Bravo–Juan Coello Foundation, expressed his frustration with Teide National Park, stating that it “hurts.”

He wrote: If this is the crown jewel. How will the other spaces be? We know because most are equal or worse. It is a scandal and a shame the lack of response, inaction and complicity with an unsustainable situation."

An eco-tax will also be charged to tourists visiting the park from 2026, aimed at supporting conservation efforts, Canarian Weekly reported. More environmental officers are also expected to be assigned to the park to better control the area.