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November 2025 | Gazette Life | 3ContentsEd's letterA beach I often swim at, just outside one of the main resorts, isn%u2019t very popular. It%u2019s not easy to access and has just about enough sand for a very small sandcastle, but it%u2019s peaceful and pretty and I often meet cuttlefish and stingrays in the sea there. This year I%u2019ve got to know a gang of young barracudas who patrol the shore trying to look tough. The other day, I was there with about five other people, who were relaxing, reading and just enjoying the peace when another gang turned up - ten young tourists in their 20s who started hurling themselves into the water, screaming and shouting. After ten minutes of this racket, three of the other beach users quietly stood up and left, one of them shaking her head at me as she went.I%u2019d tell you where the noisy visitors were from, but you may have already guessed - and probably guessed wrong. I once asked several hotel workers and shop assistants which nationality was their least favourite to deal with, and received a whole range of answers, most of which seemed to be based on individual incidents like this. We receive three million tourists a year, and the immense Published ByCANARY ISLAND IMPACT SERVICES S.L.Apartado de Correos (PO Box) 27 35510, Puerto del Carmen, T%u00edas.LanzaroteCif: B76362367DEPOSITO LEGAL: GC 786-2015EMAIL CONTACTSEDITORIAL:editorial@gazettelife.comADVERTISING:advertising@gazettelife.comCLASSIFIEDS:classified@gazettelife.comSOCIAL MEDIA: digital@gazettelife.com+34 928 093 823 +34 621 274 473www.gazettelife.comWhilst we make every effort to ensure that material published in the magazine is decent, legal and accurate, it can take no responsibility for any damage or loss which might arise as a result of material published herein. We are not responsible for third party advertisers within the magazine. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers or the editor.Regulars06Local News08Island Info18Crossword19Ed's Postbag28Recipe40Maps50Property70Football72Motors73Marketplace75Classifieds 78Tide Times/Weather Watch79Tel Numbers81HoroscopesGAZETTELIFETOURIST AREN%u2019T TO BLAMENovember 2025majority of them are polite and respectful. But with a figure that size there are always going to be a few thoughtless, selfish individuals, and it is these who sometimes hit the headlines. The problems this island faces with tourism, and which the protests of the last two years were directed at, have nothing to do with individual tourists or nationalities. There is, to my knowledge, no hostility towards tourists in general. But tourism changes. Once, complaints were about tourists who never left their hotels apart from the odd coach excursion. Tourists were urged to %u201cget out and discover the island%u201d Now, we see complaints about tourists who are doing just that, flocking to previously unknown places in fleets of hire cars. If a tourist has to get out of their car to pee while waiting in the queue to visit Timanfaya, whose fault is that exactly? If emergency services have to rescue one of the thousands of hikers who have ventured up a volcano and twisted an ankle, who is really to blame?And if a bunch of noisy kids shatter the peace of a quiet beach, maybe we should remember that they%u2019re breaking no laws on a holiday island that welcomes everyone, and be happy that they%u2019re having the time of their lives. There are plenty of other beaches, plenty of other days.