Protesters rally across Canary Islands

Thousands in Spain's Canary Islands protested against mass tourism, demanding restrictions across the archipelago.

MASPALOMAS, Spain: Thousands of flag-waving demonstrators hit the streets across Spain's Canary Islands on Sunday, rallying under the slogan "The Canary Islands have a limit" to demand restrictions to the mass tourism they say is overwhelming their Atlantic archipelago.

The demonstrators started at midday across all of the archipelago's seven main islands. They gathered outside a convention centre in Maspalomas on the island of Gran Canaria, the only water park on the island of Fuerteventura, and the nightlife district in Playa de las America in Tenerife's southwestern tip.

Some 6,500 people took part in the protest in Tenerife, 5,000 in Gran Canaria and over 1,500 people in Lanzarote, local officials said.