Top Tenerife anti-tourist crusader is revealed as a BRIT who admits he’s constantly branded a ‘hypocrite’

ONE of the top anti-tourist crusaders in Tenerife has been revealed as a proud British ex-pat.

Welshman Brian Harrison, 57, admitted he is constantly branded a "hypocrite" for his role in leading a campaign group on the island calling for a limit on tourism.

Brian, originally from Bridgend, South Wales, is the secretary general of the Salvar La Tejita protest group who are looking to clamp down on the number of visitors flocking to the island.

The group is in favour of implementing a controversial tourist tax and has taken part in a huge number of anti-tourism protests across Spain this summer.

And Brian, who moved to Tenerife after finishing university in the UK, plays a leading role in the organisation's campaigning.

Brian has admitted to The Telegraph that he is often asked: "Don't you think it's a bit hypocritical?"

But the Brit-turned-Spaniard said: "I've never really felt like I belonged anywhere.

"I didn't just go on holiday to Spain and stay there, I made a plan to move here when I was in my early twenties and I've lived here for most of my life."

Despite recognising the irony of heading up a group who may have once stood in his way, he argued that - as a long-term resident - he deserves a say.

"Why wouldn't anyone want to take care of a place they've lived in for over 30 years?" the Welsh engineer asked.

“I’ve got no plans to leave here, and whilst I’m here, I’ll fit in with the culture, but I don’t feel obliged to do it."

He added that the issue for many locals isn't the people themselves coming to the islands, but rather the sheer volume of holidaymakers.

Tenerife is becoming "unsustainable" with the amount of people calling it home for a few weeks a year, he claimed.

It comes as droves of defiant Brits rushed to book trips to Tenerife this summer - despite local anger at the holiday-making hordes.

In an interview on Good Morning Britain, Brian said: "Tourists are always welcome here, there will be no hostility. But obviously action needs to be taken."

He continued saying the authorities "have to take action to limit tourism, to make tourism sustainable" after years of neglect.

Locals say they cannot afford to buy a home and blame the government for allowing holiday rentals and accommodation construction to drive up housing costs.

They hope curbing tourism, which accounts for 35 per cent of Tenerife’s GDP, will mean they are not priced out.

TOURIST TENSION

In the Majorcan capital Palma, two big protests have this year taken place as locals rage about overcrowding and dwindling affordable housing.

Other smaller protests have taken place elsewhere on the island as well as its Balearic neighbours Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera.

On July 27, around 250 protesters impeded tourist access to a Menorcan beach in a “surprise action”.

Activists boasted of filling a car park by Cala Turqueta, a beautiful cove on the island’s southern coast, with “residents’ cars”.

They then used towels and their own bodies to shape the message "SOS Menorca" on the sand by the waterline.

The unannounced protest, by environmental non-profit organisation GOB Menorca, resulted in the car park being “blocked” to holidaymakers for around six hours from early morning, according to local reports.

Anti-mass-tourism protests have also taken place in the Canary Islands, as well as mainland hotspots like Alicante and Malaga.

On August 18, protesters unfurled a huge banner telling tourists on a packed Costa Blanca beach in Alicante that read: "Go home."

Graffiti targeted at tourists has also appeared in both Tenerife and Majorca.