Santa Cruz de Tenerife (EFE).- The general secretary of the Workers’ Commissions (CCOO) of the Canary Islands, Inocencio González, asked this Tuesday for the stop of the tourist “macroproject” of Cuna del Alma, in Puertito de Adeje, in Tenerife, and focus on rehabilitation to attract better quality tourism, which should not imply a loss of jobs in the sector.
Inocencio González told a press conference that after meeting with groups opposed to Cuna del Alma and representatives of the Cabildo de Tenerife and the town hall of Adeje of the union, they unanimously decided to position themselves against this macro-project.
“The Canary Islands cannot continue to allow tourism development based on the number of tourists, we must value the preservation of biodiversity,” he said, while believing that the islands should not compete with other destinations by continuing to attract 16 million tourists a year. .
According to him, the Canary Islands are an insular, fragile and vulnerable territory in which it is foolish to insist on tourist development based on the expansion of places that leave a significant impact and ecological footprint.
For this reason, he advocated increasing the added value of tourism, which is the engine of the economy of the Canary Islands, but which must be rethought in order to specialize it and ensure its excellence.
In this context, he said that hotel facilities do not need to be expanded, but rather to transform them and make them more sustainable, for which tourist rehabilitation is “essential”.
Likewise, he insisted that the transition to a higher quality model should not have a direct impact on the work generated by the tourism sector.
CCOO’s secretary for sustainability and occupational health, Carmen Marrero, has shown her total rejection of Cuna del Alma, because it is an obsolete project from more than 30 years ago that has not nothing to do with today’s tourists, with an environmental conscience.
Marrero showed his amazement that the Canary Islands continue to compete with sun and beach tourism when 47% of the territory enjoys some type of protection.
In addition, he recalled that tourism generates 36% of the GDP of the Canary Islands and around 40% of the work on the islands, although he regretted that it did not lead to quality jobs, since the archipelago part of the communities with a higher poverty rate. .
Marrero criticized the fact that the Canary Islands government, which declared a climate emergency, now allows macro projects, such as Cuna del Alma, which endanger biodiversity and cultural assets.
He opted for the diversification of tourism with the economy so that the Canary Islands do not come at the expense of other destinations or tour operators.
According to him, it is necessary to promote a more specialized tourism which values biodiversity instead of competing with other sun and beach destinations and attracting travelers who do not care to go to the Canary Islands or Tunisia.
Thus, he opted for conscientious tourism, in fewer and better quality, with longer stays, so that the carbon footprint is lower, such as nomadic workers or senior tourism.
The Secretary General of the Insular Union of Tenerife of the CCOO Canarias, Andrés Baute, demanded that the PSOE, the party that governs the executive, the Cabildo and the town hall of Adeje, manifest itself in what it proposes to the ‘coming.
He asked for consistency from this party, which is supposed to defend a sustainability agenda, while demanding the cessation of Cuna del Alma and the study of the sustainable development of the island.
In addition, Baute denounced the attacks in Cuna del Alma against those who defend the environmental future of Tenerife. ECE