Hotel protest in Playa Blanca

Protestors entered the Papagayo Arena hotel yesterday to protest against the illegal status of the hotel and the water shortages on Lanzarote.

Demonstrators from Lanzarote Tiene Un Limite (Lanzarote Has A Limit), one of the groups that organised April’s protests against mass tourism, entered the hotel carrying placards marked “This hotel is illegal” and “Our water is in your pool”. They then filled bottles from the pool and distributed leaflets.

The protest comes after a week during which dozens of towns and villages on Lanzarote suffered water cuts once again.  Meanwhile, supplies to the resorts remain protected. 

The Papagayo Arena hotel was declared illegal and condemned to demolition in 2016 but has remained open to the public ever since.  Ecologists In Action have described it as “one of the biggest symbols of corruption on the island.”